“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” Revelation 22:1-4
Our four-year-old grandson stayed with us overnight last week so we got to spend a day together. One of the things that he loves to do is play the game Mouse Trap. While my wife and I both enjoyed the original game as children, we both find the current version rather tedious. As Liam and I were playing a third round of the game, I began to feel a bit cranky and the hard floor we were sitting on wasn’t helping. His elation and my crankiness caused me to consider the varying views that people have about heaven. You can get a bit of an idea of someone’s spiritual maturity by their expectations for eternity. Similar to the assumptions regarding what a loving God would include in our lives, many consider the wonder of heaven to be the eternal enjoyment of things that brought them pleasure in this life. In that sense, what is reward for one person may be punishment for another. Fortunately, that is not the case. While I generally avoid conversations about heaven and the subject of eschatology because people tend to assume things that scripture doesn’t speak to as well as attempting to predict what God’s word tells us is unpredictable, I would like to touch on a few fairly clear characteristics of heaven.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 While I look forward to being reunited with those whom I love in heaven, I must admit the subject of who is and who is not in heaven causes me a bit of concern. Of course I want the people I love to be in heaven. However, that’s a double edged sword of sorts since there may be those whom I have loved on earth who have in fact rejected God’s salvation and will, therefore, not reside in heaven. That thought often gives me a fair amount of stress and causes me to plead with God for their salvation if there is any doubt. Then there is the thought that there are some believers who have made this life difficult whose presence in heaven I struggle to accept. It’s the same problem that we have in our churches, despite accepting God’s forgiveness of our sins, we often forget that God forgives the past, present and future sins of our brothers and sisters as well no matter how well we get along with them. The fact is that heaven is going to be full of sinful but forgiven people transformed by God’s sacrifice and work in their lives. It’s one of those times that I must rise above my feelings and remember the truth of scripture that we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God, yet God in His goodness forgives us all. Even Michael when disputing with Satan, did not pronounce judgement, but left the matter for God to decide. (Jude 9:9) We would do well to do the same and leave judgement to our holy and merciful God. In fact we should be elated for all who are recipients of God’s salvation.
“And nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27) Like most people, I look forward to freedom from pain, suffering and death in heaven, but what really gets me excited is the freedom from sin and the temptation to sin. Rather than constantly having to fight my nature to avoid immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander or abusive speech (Colossians 3:5-8), my instinctive tendencies will be love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
“And a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ Then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.’” (Revelation 19:5-6) The worshipful praise at the last Billy Graham crusade that I attended impressed me so much that all I could think of that it was a faint foreshadowing of what praise in heaven will be like. As someone who truly enjoys music, it stirred in me a longing for the perfect praise of all of the believers in heaven. Like the freedom from sin and its effects, the freedom to praise God perfectly and without distraction is something that I anxiously await.
“I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22-23) The greatest gift that we will receive in Heaven is to dwell with God. Clothed in Christ’s righteousness and perfected by His sacrifice, we will live with God and His glory will illumine both our surroundings and our souls. I can’t even begin to imagine what that will be like, but know that it will be infinitely better than anything that gives us pleasure in this life.
These are the things that keep me striving to maintain my faith and walk in a manner that He desires. When I am strong, I thank God for His sustaining grace and strength; when I fail, I rest in His forgiveness and try again. Life on earth is difficult and full of temptations and trials, but we are called to endure and we strive to live godly lives because of this wonderful life that awaits us. Yet to ease the burden, God is ever with us and places other godly people in our lives to encourage us as well. As I’ve been writing this post, a dear friend who has loved and encouraged me has transitioned to heaven to receive her eternal reward. For those of us left behind I am saddened, but for her I am elated. She no longer has to wonder about and dream of heaven, but is experiencing heaven and the presence of God in all its glory.
May unity with our loving Heavenly Father inspire you to endure and press on striving to live a godly life that you too may receive your eternal reward. May you also be aware of His presence with you as you walk the path that He has laid for you in this life.
Will