1 Corinthians 2:9 But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.”
Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Revelations 21:2-4 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
Do you ever stop and think about heaven? I’ve always wanted to go to heaven, but I confess that during my youth I prayed and asked God to wait a while before He took me home. Oh, you know how it is. I was a girl with plans…lots and lots of plans…and I’m still a big time planner today. I had quite a few talks with God, and told Him that I wanted to finish school, get married, have children, and a career. Well, then, I had to see my children grow up…and now there are grandchildren. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Lately though, my conversations with God are more like, “This place is a mess! You can come get me any time you want me now!” I can hardly wait to get to heaven! It’s human nature for us to cling to the material things in life, but we also have a spiritual nature, and our spirit desires our permanent home. Seriously, our spirit longs for heaven!
David Jeremiah preached on a series on heaven, and one of the topics was “heaven won’t be boring.” He explained that we wouldn’t get bored because we would be in the presence of almighty God, we would be serving daily, and we would be with friends and loved ones. I can’t wait to reunite with those who’ve gone before me: great grandparents, grandparents, Mama, aunts and uncles, and friends. He also reminded me that when we get to heaven we can become friends with our ancestors. Can you even imagine having the opportunity to sit down and have breakfast with David or Joseph, or maybe lunch with Ruth and Boaz, and then supper with Esther? Oh my goodness, I can’t even imagine the conversations that we’ll have!
But with all of my excitement over heaven comes great heartache. I have only an inkling of knowledge of the splendor of heaven. It excites me to the core of my being, yet at the same time I feel distressed because everyone that I love won’t be there. Yes, the Bible speaks of heaven, but it speaks even more loudly and clearly about hell. Hell is real. We aren’t living in hell right now, no matter how bad things look. Matthew 13:42 is just one of many scriptures that tells about this awful place. “They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It’s a never ending, continual blazing furnace. The agony will be unbearable. There will be no quenching of thirst or putting out the fire. Hell sounds incredibly awful, but what would be even worse than that would be eternal separation from our Father. I can’t even fathom it!
I don’t want to be separated from my heavenly Father, and I don’t want to be eternally separated from anyone reading this. So today I ask you with all sincerity and seriousness, do you know where you will be spending eternity? Do you know without a shadow of a doubt that you will be joyfully running through the pearly gates? If you don’t know this for sure, now is the time to know. Ask Christ into your heart today. We aren’t promised tomorrow. I’m ready to run through those pearly gates as soon as the good Lord decides to let me in. I pray you’ll be running through them some day as well. Run with joy and peace to Christ!
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 