Praise the Lord for this the last Monday of
April. It has been a very chilly start of spring here in New York. After the
morning worship we drove in some parts of the beautiful Broome County in the
evening. Some of the spring flowering trees are in luxuriant bloom. We heard
the morning doves singing evening songs. Blackbirds, along with all the spring
birds, were full of mirth and joyful song. I love the sweet spring season. It
gives us a little glimpse of heaven.
The Lord blessed us with a full weekend of
celebration and joy. One of our ministry teams prepared and served a very
special sumptuous dinner at the First United Methodist church on Saturday
Evening. The dinner was preceded by time of worship, praise, and testimonies.
The Lord blessed us yesterday in His House . One of the readings for yesterday
was taken from Revelation 21.1-6. In this passage Heaven is described as a
place of joy. Heaven is a place of joy because our
joyous Lord there. Scripture clearly states that heaven will be a place where
God will wipe away every tear and there will be no more crying. So often when
we see scenes of heaven in the Bible there are great exclamations of joy and
glorious singing.
I think we often pass over the ecstasy of
heaven. We see the holiness of heaven and the glory of God, but we miss the
ecstatic joy. We understand that there will be no more pain and no more evil.
I believe there will be meaningful and purposeful activity. I believe there
will be indescribable joy. When Jesus was on earth he said that his purpose in
coming was, “so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete”
(John 15:11). If that was His desire and purpose on earth, how much more it is
His purpose in heaven. He said that there was great joy in heaven when one
sinner repents (Luke 15:7). There is great joy over the repentant sinner,
because there is one more person who will share in the glories of heaven. Part
of the joy of heaven for God and for us is that you will be there. The Psalmist
talked of the joy and pleasures in heaven when he wrote: “You have made known to
me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal
pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).
Heaven is described as a city. What this means is that it will not be just you and Jesus. You will be part of a city. A city is a city only because it is filled with people.
Randy Alcorn, in his book simply titled, "Heaven", says, “Consider what it will be like to see the Masai of Kenya, the Dinka of Sudan, the Hmong, Athabaskans, Tibetans, Aucans, Icelanders, Macedonians, Moldovans, Moroccans, and Peruvians. Hundreds of nations, thousands of people groups, will gather to worship Christ. And many national and cultural distinctives, untouched by sin, will continue to the glory of God. Isaiah 60:11 gives us biblical basis to suppose that the best culture, history, art, music, and the languages of the old Earth will be redeemed, purified, and carried over to the New Earth.” I think that is beautiful and exciting. The Bible says that Jesus has, “purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
Heaven takes seriously the difficulties we are facing now. The Lord said, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:6-7). The Lord understands that in this present world there is a thirst for something new, a world where our longings are met and fulfilled.
Lee Elcov says, “We focus on heaven not as a respite from real life, but to gain strength for real life.” We focus on heaven because we need to remember that this is not heaven here and now, and was never intended to be. We don’t expect what life cannot give. We don’t demand something from this world which it is incapable of giving. We know that day is coming, but it is not now. So we do not lose heart.
Like Spring sunshine at the end of a long, hard winter, heaven will break like the dawn of a new day — a day of joy and celebration that we cannot at the present time begin to grasp. Jill Carattini writes: “In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and the Interpreter along their journey come across a man with a muck rake in his hand. Steadily raking filth from the floor, the man ‘could look no way but downwards’ and so, could not see the celestial crown being offered him from above.” Like that man, we can look down at the muck, or we can look up. This is the gift that God is offering, but we have to look up to see what is being offered. We have to open our eyes to the God who seeks to embrace us and take us to his eternal reward.
Heaven is described as a city. What this means is that it will not be just you and Jesus. You will be part of a city. A city is a city only because it is filled with people.
Randy Alcorn, in his book simply titled, "Heaven", says, “Consider what it will be like to see the Masai of Kenya, the Dinka of Sudan, the Hmong, Athabaskans, Tibetans, Aucans, Icelanders, Macedonians, Moldovans, Moroccans, and Peruvians. Hundreds of nations, thousands of people groups, will gather to worship Christ. And many national and cultural distinctives, untouched by sin, will continue to the glory of God. Isaiah 60:11 gives us biblical basis to suppose that the best culture, history, art, music, and the languages of the old Earth will be redeemed, purified, and carried over to the New Earth.” I think that is beautiful and exciting. The Bible says that Jesus has, “purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
Heaven takes seriously the difficulties we are facing now. The Lord said, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Revelation 21:6-7). The Lord understands that in this present world there is a thirst for something new, a world where our longings are met and fulfilled.
Lee Elcov says, “We focus on heaven not as a respite from real life, but to gain strength for real life.” We focus on heaven because we need to remember that this is not heaven here and now, and was never intended to be. We don’t expect what life cannot give. We don’t demand something from this world which it is incapable of giving. We know that day is coming, but it is not now. So we do not lose heart.
Like Spring sunshine at the end of a long, hard winter, heaven will break like the dawn of a new day — a day of joy and celebration that we cannot at the present time begin to grasp. Jill Carattini writes: “In John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian and the Interpreter along their journey come across a man with a muck rake in his hand. Steadily raking filth from the floor, the man ‘could look no way but downwards’ and so, could not see the celestial crown being offered him from above.” Like that man, we can look down at the muck, or we can look up. This is the gift that God is offering, but we have to look up to see what is being offered. We have to open our eyes to the God who seeks to embrace us and take us to his eternal reward.
The Bible says, “But the day of the Lord will
come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. . . .
But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new
earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:10,13). The old earth will pass
away and God will create a new earth which will be the home of righteousness.
Dallas Willard assures us that “The life we now have as the persons we now are will continue
in the universe in which we now exist.” It will not be a strange
apparition, but the real world we have known, only new and better.
T. S. Elliot wrote:
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
C. S. Lewis in his great book, "The Problem of Pain", struggles with the problems caused by the pains of life. In writing, he says, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” I think he is right. Home is on its way, but it is not here yet. Don’t make the mistake of thinking it is. And when it gets here he will make “everything new.”
In C. S. Lewis’ wonderful books. "The Chronicles of Narnia", the
characters who have lived in Narnia have completed their time and work there.
In a closing chapter entitled “Further Up and Further In,” Aslan, the lion who
represents Christ, has come for them in order to take them home. They are
headed away from Narnia and are about to enter Aslan’s land. But they are met
with familiar scenes. One of the characters cries out: “I
have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the
land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The
reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like
this.” I believe that when we enter the real heaven, we will say, “This
is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till
now.
In Christ,
Brown
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