THE BEST IS YET TO COME!
Psalm 27:4 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
This should be our blessed hope! What other greater blessing could we have than to be able to be in the presence of the Lord? Think of how beautiful he must be! Think of how wonderful it will be to look into his loving eyes to see only love for us! Only those that have rejected his love will find terror and punishment waiting for them as they stand before the Lord.
In some ways it is interesting to hear what some people, even Christians, hope for in heaven. When I became a Christian I thought heaven would be a place where I could wish for anything and have it right away. I could fish anytime I wanted and catch 12 pound bass with every cast, but then I thought after a while that would get a little boring. Then I thought I could drive a sprint car anytime I wanted sliding around the corners, throwing mud and having the motor roar. But then I thought after awhile even that would get a little boring. I have heard pastors say that they didn’t want to go to heaven, but when they died they wanted to go to another planet where they could tell others about Jesus and minister to them. I have also heard people say that they wanted to be with their loved ones that had died. Some say that the first thing that they want to do is quiz God why he allowed the bad things to happen in their life and the lives of others. Others want to be treated like kings by having people wait on them, giving them whatever they want. And I know that this doesn’t even scratch the surface of what others expect out of their great hope we call heaven. What is your great hope for heaven?
Life is funny and we can certainly be funny as well. Sometimes life is a matter of perspective isn’t it? When we were little we think we can’t live without than new ball glove or new roller skates. We are no longer satisfied with a single or double, we want a home run every time, unless we are doing the pitching. The new dress just will not do unless it is like the other cool girls. It is not enough to be able to drive a car, we need one of our own and one that everyone admires. We don’t just a boyfriend, but one that all the other girls will envy us over. We don't want just a job that pays us well, but we want one that gives us prestige and wealth. We don’t want just a nice home to life in, but in one that others would want. We want one with bathrooms for every bedroom, entertainment room with all the latest entertainment, a massive kitchen with stainless steal appliances and granite counter tops, beautiful furniture, multi car garage with room for the boat, motorcycle, jet ski, bicycles, and a back yard with a beautiful pool, hot tub that has a water fall coming down into it, and of course a front yard that cries look at what I have. Then when we retire and wonder when our children and grandchildren will stop by. In the meantime we sit around and wonder what if, and try to forget our many sins and regrets. We notice every new pain and check the paper to see if anyone we know has died or if our name has been listed. All we have to do is reach 65 years old and we start to think how fast our life had really gone. When we were young the summers seemed to last forever, but just like our grandparents we find ourselves sitting there thinking where did the time go and what do I have to look forward to.
In some ways this didn’t paint a very pretty picture as true as it may be. What we need to remember that our past doesn't have to dictate our future no matter what it may have been like, good or bad. When we become a Christian we can have hope for the future here on earth as well as eternity in heaven. It is true God will always respect our free will, but why would we want or even settle for the least when we can have the best with Jesus?
While we may not know our future 100%, we do know that Jesus said he will never leave us or forsake us not even to the end of the age. We can decide to break our relationship with him, but he will never with us. Jesus wants only the best for us, and no matter what we may go through he plans to turn even the lemons into lemonade so to speak. Even at death's door he will be there to take us home to be with him for all eternity.
(Jn 14:3)
What will heaven be like? Well, maybe we need to look at our death experience first. I Corinthians 15:35-58 gives us a lot of information regarding this. It is too long for me to type since I am not very good, and my dyslexia has me type some really crazy looking words. But it says that in a twinkling of an eye we get our new body that is perfect, and we will have the likeness of Jesus. Rev 21 tells us that we will never again experience death, mourning, crying or pain for the old order of things will have passed away. Everything will be new and we will be in the presence of the Lord forever. There will be a new heaven and earth for the old ones have passed away. (the heaven destroyed is the sky above the earth) There will be no sin in heaven and all that rebell from the Lord will not be there to torment us. Heaven will be more beautiful than we can comprehend. We won’t have a sun nor will there be night as the glory of the Lord will bring it light and splendor. Best of all the Lord God Almighty will be there with us for ever! At last we will see with our own eyes the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit and our Husband Jesus Christ! Words cannot express how wonderful it will be! Isaiah 65 even tells us that the former things will not even be remembered. All our past sins and regrets will be as though they never happened. As the song by Kirchenchor goes “Heaven is a wonderful place filled with glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, heaven is a wonderful place. I want to go there!” And I want to go there, I really mean it!!!
So, in conclusion we might remember I Corinthians 15:56,57, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Don’t give up on your blessed hope in Jesus brothers and sisters. Eternity with Jesus awaits all who love and trust in him!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us so much, and giving us a glimpse of what is to come. Thank you for making heaven such a wonderful place for us to be with you for eternity. Please help us to always keep this hope before us, and our love for you to become stronger and more beautiful every day. We love you Jesus!
