It's said that everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die to get there. Maybe. But I have to ask. Why do you want to go to heaven?
Our normal, first priority is our own comfort. Now, Christians are supposed to get past that, but I would guess that many of us still look at heaven as "I will finally be ... comfortable. No more tears. No more sadness. Just happy all the time." I recently heard a song about heaven in which they kept joyously repeating, "I'll have a new body." Good, yes, but is that what we're looking for in heaven? Some people don't want to go to heaven because they think it will be boring. "Hanging around clouds, playing harps. Boring!" Either of these two options -- a place of personal comfort or a boring place -- are premised on the same thing ... me. Is that what we need to consider in going to heaven? I once heard a fellow telling his "died and went to heaven" experience. He said, "I saw Jesus and the first thing I asked Him was, 'Please watch over my wife.'" Really? Are these our primary concerns for heaven?
Someone asked me once, "If you knew that you would go to heaven and be happy -- no more tears -- but Jesus wouldn't be there, would you want to go?" A pointed question. Most of us are looking for a unique "happy place." The real question to me is can you be happy where Jesus is not? Or, put the other way around, is Jesus your primary joy or is it something else? Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt 6:21). Is your treasure in Christ or in your own personal comfort? If it is not Christ, I would suggest you could never be happy in heaven because ... your heart just wouldn't be in it.
3 comments:
How could it possibly be heaven if Christ wasn't their? If I died and found myself in a place without Christ, I'd have to assume I'd have another life to live to get to wherever He is. There is no heaven without Christ. I imagine we all initially come to Christ out of a fear of hell and a hope for eternal peace, but if that's where you stay in your desire, then you really don't understand the surpassing richness of the glory of Christ.
one of my many favorite quotes on this subject...
The Blessed Hope of seeing Jesus and going to heaven to be with Him is a powerful force in the Christians life. When we realize the joy we shall have in heaven, it makes us love Him more. The fact that we know we shall be with him in glory encourages us to trust Him more. even the problems and trials here on earth do not move us away from that hope" Wiersbe
Of course, I am looking forward to seeing my loved ones and all the saints through the ages, serving Christ and singing praises no doubt about that, but without Jesus? No way.
"The Christian, when he leaves the body, is at once with the Lord Jesus. He rushes, as it were instinctively to His presence, and casts himself at His feet. He has no other home than where the savior is, he thinks of no future joy or glory but that which is to be enjoyed with Him." Barnes
And, if Jesus is our primary joy, and if our treasure is in Christ, we can have great joy in this life—even before joining Him in heaven—since He is with us even now through the Spirit. As they say, “All this and heaven, too!”
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