February 7, 1995
We are planning a vacation next summer in Scotland that will include a family reunion. This one will be a true gathering of the clan. My maiden name is Leslie and the Leslie’s of Leslie Castle near Aberdeen have invited Leslies from all over the world to join them in three days of highland music, feasting, and various other activities.
I keep forming mental images of what it will be like to meet a host of relatives. I see a myriad of plaid kilts, hear a thousand Scottish burrs, and wonder at the awful beauty of dozens of bagpipes playing reels and marches. However, that is probably not a true picture of what awaits us so I have decided to abandon the limits of my imagination. Soon enough, we will see what Scotland and those many Leslies are really like.
Refusing mental pictures is a challenge because the unknown is hard to leave that way. We form the same mental pictures of many places, even of heaven. Where is it? What does it look like? Who will be there? Will we know everyone? Are we going to sit on clouds and play harps all day? Will there be angels in long white gowns with feathered wings? Are the streets really gold? Does St. Peter sit at a Pearly Gate checking in each arrival? What will we do for eternity? Will it be boring? What does God look like? Is He smiling?
The Bible says very little about heaven. Maybe visual images are too difficult because we cannot imagine perfection, yet Scripture does call heaven Paradise and in our hearts, we are drawn to something better, something beyond what we know, and better. Certainly heaven is the dwelling place of God and the desire and longing of many human hearts.
What does God say about it? While the descriptions seems symbolic, the book of Revelation does talk about a Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It says this city will shine with the glory of God and will be of pure gold, as pure as glass.. It will be brilliant like precious jewels, and clear as crystal. The walls will be high, with twelve gates and twelve foundations each made of precious stones. The great street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. There is no temple, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple, and this city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Obviously, heaven is a place of worship and very beautiful.
Revelation 21:21 also says there are twelve gates and each gate is made of a single pearl. Walls and gates suggest shelter for those inside and entrances for those outside. Heaven is safe and protected, but also accessible. However, the gates are not wide open. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life....”
According to the Bible, any decision about who gets in is not made by St. Peter at the gate but by each person on earth before they die. The Lamb’s book of life is reserved for those who repent of their sin and place their faith in the Lamb, Jesus Christ, while they are still living. However, God says whosoever will may come.
Scripture also says in heaven there will be no more curse. Sin is forgiven and cleansed, judged at Calvary and never again to be judged. The throne of God and of the Lamb are in this wonderful place and here God’s servants will joyfully serve him forever.
The priority of God is obviously not that we know what heaven is like but that our names are in the book of life. The final verses in the Bible are His invitation: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’” He wants us not anxious about what heaven looks like but concerned that those gates of pearl will someday swing open for us.
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Showing posts with label imagination. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Monday, January 19, 2015
Heaven is a destination of choice! ................. Parables 224
(July 4, 1990)
As we discussed travel, a friend told of relatives from Greece journeying to Canada for the first time. After a day or two in Alberta, they wanted to pop over for an afternoon visit with another relative -- in New Brunswick! To convince them HERE was not the same as THERE, my friend had to show them the size of Greece compared to the size of Canada on a world map.
Most of us cannot identify with something outside of our experience. Before my husband became a Christian, he used to say, “Heaven would be boring, just sitting around doing nothing or playing a harp all the time...” He wasn’t putting that destination in his itinerary.
His too-small concept of heaven was a mixture of what life is like here and what is seen in cartoons. He could not imagine anything different. What helped both of us was the map drawn by the Lord in Scripture.
The word heaven occurs over 500 times in the Bible. Some verses mean the sky or space but many of them refer to an actual place Jesus said He would prepare for His people (John 14).
Regardless of all these references, the description is sketchy, apparently because we can’t relate to its wonders. I Corinthians 2:9, for instance, says: “...as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him.”
God reveals this much: Jesus came down from heaven to do the will of His heavenly Father, ascended back to heaven where He now intercedes for His people, and promises to return again from heaven to raise the dead (John 6:38, Acts 1:11, Hebrews 9:24, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16). So heaven is the home of the Father and the Son: holy, perfect, sinless Beings. My problem is that I can’t imagine perfection or a place without sin.
Heaven also is special because of rewards. The Bible doesn’t say exactly what they are except they are eternal, immune from theft, pollution, and corruption, and far better than anything we have here (Matthew 6:20, Hebrews 10:34, 1 Peter 1:4). I can’t imagine that either.
Angels are another extraordinary feature of heaven. These beings, created by God to serve Him, fill heaven with their joy when sinners repent because someday, those sinners, made saints by the grace of God, will join them there. Jesus even declared: “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Thus heaven will be well populated, a surprise considering Jesus said the way was narrow and only a few would find it, leading to another thing about heaven: there is a way to get there and it is a narrow way, narrow but not impossible. Jesus also said, “I am the way... no one comes to the Father but by me.” He Himself is the route to this wonderful place.
Our part in making travel arrangements for heaven, is humility of attitude and a willingness to change while we are here. Both were described when Jesus said: “Unless you are converted (changed), and become as little children (humble), you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus gives complete travel arrangements for the journey in His Book.
Those of us who have already accepted God’s Way to heaven, delight in the One who guides in our travels. He may not tell us all we would like to know about our destination but we have been given a glimpse, enough that we call HERE our temporary address... and call THERE our permanent home!
As we discussed travel, a friend told of relatives from Greece journeying to Canada for the first time. After a day or two in Alberta, they wanted to pop over for an afternoon visit with another relative -- in New Brunswick! To convince them HERE was not the same as THERE, my friend had to show them the size of Greece compared to the size of Canada on a world map.
Most of us cannot identify with something outside of our experience. Before my husband became a Christian, he used to say, “Heaven would be boring, just sitting around doing nothing or playing a harp all the time...” He wasn’t putting that destination in his itinerary.
His too-small concept of heaven was a mixture of what life is like here and what is seen in cartoons. He could not imagine anything different. What helped both of us was the map drawn by the Lord in Scripture.
The word heaven occurs over 500 times in the Bible. Some verses mean the sky or space but many of them refer to an actual place Jesus said He would prepare for His people (John 14).
Regardless of all these references, the description is sketchy, apparently because we can’t relate to its wonders. I Corinthians 2:9, for instance, says: “...as it is written, eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him.”
God reveals this much: Jesus came down from heaven to do the will of His heavenly Father, ascended back to heaven where He now intercedes for His people, and promises to return again from heaven to raise the dead (John 6:38, Acts 1:11, Hebrews 9:24, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16). So heaven is the home of the Father and the Son: holy, perfect, sinless Beings. My problem is that I can’t imagine perfection or a place without sin.
Heaven also is special because of rewards. The Bible doesn’t say exactly what they are except they are eternal, immune from theft, pollution, and corruption, and far better than anything we have here (Matthew 6:20, Hebrews 10:34, 1 Peter 1:4). I can’t imagine that either.
Angels are another extraordinary feature of heaven. These beings, created by God to serve Him, fill heaven with their joy when sinners repent because someday, those sinners, made saints by the grace of God, will join them there. Jesus even declared: “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” Thus heaven will be well populated, a surprise considering Jesus said the way was narrow and only a few would find it, leading to another thing about heaven: there is a way to get there and it is a narrow way, narrow but not impossible. Jesus also said, “I am the way... no one comes to the Father but by me.” He Himself is the route to this wonderful place.
Our part in making travel arrangements for heaven, is humility of attitude and a willingness to change while we are here. Both were described when Jesus said: “Unless you are converted (changed), and become as little children (humble), you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus gives complete travel arrangements for the journey in His Book.
Those of us who have already accepted God’s Way to heaven, delight in the One who guides in our travels. He may not tell us all we would like to know about our destination but we have been given a glimpse, enough that we call HERE our temporary address... and call THERE our permanent home!
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