Heaven

I had the divine privilege to listen to our worship pastor preach this morning at church. He gave us a "break" from Proverbs and dove in to a sermon that he titles, "Heavenly Minded". The first question he asked was: What do you picture when you think of heaven?

To be perfectly honest, I don't think of heaven all that often. It seems there is plenty to worry about here in the current life... so much to want, to buy, to need. Thing is, we're supposed to set our mind on things above (Colossians 3:2). This life is going to come and go. In less than a century, we'll waste away. And in another century, we will be completely forgotten. That's a sad and morbid thought, apart from the glorious hope we have in heaven.

Heaven isn't just some place in the clouds with vapors of people with wings and halos. No, the Bible has so much more to say about what heaven will be like, and we just seem to skim right over it. Ryan gave us a bunch of different passages today that refer to the heaven to come as the best things of this life: there will be all of God's glorious creation (mountains, oceans, forests, sunsets), food, wine (yes, wine!), singing, and so much more. The best part - I'm going to get to see God face-to-face... and it's going to put me on my knees...The things we enjoy here on earth are just an appetizer of the heaven to come. Randy Alcorn wrote a book called "Heaven" that I've put on hold at the library... I want to be excited for heaven, and "get a grip on heaven so I can loosen my grip on this life."



I'm so thankful that Christ lead a sinless life and took the punishment for my sins, resurrected again, and forgave me that I might live in eternity with my Maker. Wow. Have you ever stopped to think about that? It really changes my mindset on daily life. Am I living in a way that brings glory to His name? Do the choices I make and the words I say reflect His love and forgiveness? I want everyone to have that same hope in eternal paradise that I've found. And I always find that I could do more to share...

Do you have that hope? Just as heaven is reality, hell is also a very real and scary place. Do you know where you're going? It may be cliche, but check out John 3:16. God's grace is abundant in Christ's salvation.