Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
I believe Heaven is real, not because I’ve had a life-after-death experience or seen the movie that describes a child’s venture to the other side. I don’t think there was ever a time when I didn’t believe in Heaven. I grew up singing I’ll Fly Away and I’ve Got a Mansion Just over the Hilltop. But in all honesty, I’ve taken Heaven for granted. Like fine print on the terms of a contract, I haven’t given it a whole lot of thought. I’m apt to set my mind on the “earthly things” of today more than the ’“things above” of tomorrow. Such inattention has affected my spiritual life more than I realize.
Heaven gives us the needed perspective on how to live in a fallen world. It keeps us from putting all our eggs in one basket. It lets us know around the bend lies more than that relationship, that position, that failure, that success.As C.S. Lewis writes, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”
So what about Heaven? Although “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him,” we can wonder a little …
Heaven assures us that death is not the end, but the beginning. It’s not, as one poet has described, “hitting the period and closing the book.” It’s discovering the book for the first time. It’s not the final destination of the train; it’s getting on the train—a train headed for the greatest adventure we’ve ever known.
Nothing impure or deceitful will find its way into heaven (Revelation 21:27). Much of what has been esteemed on earth will be exposed like the Emperor who had no clothes. Celebrities will no longer be worshiped. Ruthless dictators, sex traffickers, and all who have despised human dignity will be nowhere in sight. Heaven will be devoid of hate, jealousy, selfishness and pride (Revelation 21:8).
God’s love permeates Heaven like light streaming from the sun. His love will embrace us until every tear is dried and every lingering doubt about our significance has been answered. If there was a Heaven Daily Times it would have our arrival splashed in big bold letters…front page… above the fold…announcing to all of Heaven’s residents that we made it.
Heaven…go ahead, wonder a bit…