Who carries me on eagles' wings.
He crowns my life with loving kindness.
His triumph song I'll ever sing.
I will glory in my Redeemer,
Who waits for me at gates of gold!
And when He calls me, it will be paradise,
His face forever to behold!
His face forever to behold!"
-- from "I Will Glory in My Redeemer," Sovereign Grace Music
If you were like me, you grew up with mixed emotions about heaven. You were told that it was a wonderful place...not just wonderful, but perfect. You saw the pictures in your Children's Bible of a shining city made of gold under a golden sky with gold-tinted angels traversing streets paved with, yes...gold. You knew that if you were saved, you would get to go to this place when you died and live there forever. But wait...forever?
That's when the doubts would start to creep in. Forever? Really? What exactly will we be doing forever? Even now, my feeble human brain cannot begin to wrap itself around the concept of eternity, and for that very reason, I tend to find it terrifying.
On this side of heaven, we are finite beings living in a finite world. We are unable to comprehend eternity. Humankind is also marked with a distinct fear of the unknown. What is this eternity, anyhow? What is heaven like? We're told it's perfect, but we're not so sure. Of course, we know it's much better than the alternative, but if we'll be spending eternity there, wouldn't it get...who knows...old?
This is where I've been, but this is where God calls us to trust Him. How foolish it is of me to even begin to think that I might know a better plan for myself than God! Of course, this really is an area where we all have to trust that God's knows best and that His heaven is unlike anything we could ever imagine and the most perfect place for us to spend eternity. Why is this trusting so hard for some of us?
I think it's often because of these "artist's renditions" of heaven we see so often. The angels packing harps and wafting about amongst puffy white clouds. The shiny gold city where everything is that same shade of gold that, let's face it, looks rather unattractive. Even the idea of worshipping God forever...our sinful minds have a hard enough time authentically worshipping God here on earth for half an hour...but forever? Does God really know what He's doing here?
For one thing, we must remind ourselves these "ideas" of heaven we have are nothing...absolutely nothing like what God has in store for us. When are free from our feeble bodies and sinful hearts/minds, just imagine that! We can't even comprehend it now, but I seriously doubt we'll be bored in the presence of the Living God.
Also, in a book I was reading today, I saw an interesting quote from a Scottish theologian named Donald Macleod. On the subject of heaven, he writes:
"Paradise was no mere seminary where Adam and Eve whiled away the hours in
theological discussion. I'm sure they did that, and that they did it with more
relish than any of my students. But Eden offered scope for art, science, and
technology as well as theology. The same will doubtless be true of the world to
come. Bearing the image of the heavenly, we shall explore, colonise, serve, keep
and enhance our magnificent environment [...] The scenario is a thrilling one:
brilliant minds in powerful bodies in a transformed universe. With energy,
dexterity, and athleticism here undreamed of, we shall explore horizons beyond
our wildest imaginings."
We're told in John that there will be no physical temple in the New Jerusalem. It will be everywhere because God will be everywhere! Worship won't just be confined to our idea of sitting in pews singing songs, our every action will be, in essence, worship of our King. Everything we undertake will truly be bringing glory and honor to Him. Now that is a beautiful picture...
I don't know about you, but I can't wait!
2 comments:
oh, i definitely get really excited about the thought of heaven, especially the finally being separated from my sins part. though, i'm right there with you with eternity seeming a bit long...
i think one thing that really was a 'oh' point for me when thinking about life after this world, is that it's not just heaven. it's a new heaven and a new earth. we aren't abandoning earth and floating up to some abyss in the sky, heaven is coming down to earth, the earth will be restored, be made new, just like we are. i think of the scene at the end of the last battle, when they keep going further in and further up, and discovering an even greater, even more beautiful narnia. how amazing to know that in heaven we can see things like the grand canyon or the coast of ireland with even greater beauty and wonder and awe than we do now. hmm... i wonder if this means the pyramids will still exist or not, or if all manmade objects will be gone. interesting thought to think... but yes. the last battle is probably my favorite picture of heaven that i can have on this earth, and, as far as we can be in this life, probably fairly accurate, in the essence. how exciting is it to see all our old friends back together again? and to join in with all the narnians as we run further in and further up.
Hi Stephen,
Up late, came across your blog (snooping to see which bloggers like Sovereign Grace music!) I live in the Birmingham area as well, but just wanted to point you to Randy Alcorn's book "Heaven." Some things Erin said in her comment are expounded on by Alcorn in the book; every pastor should read it. There is a vagueness in our understanding of what heaven will be like that dampens our enthusiasm and keeps us from being comforted as we should by what is in store for us. I read it after my son died in 2004, and it was greatly encouraging. Alcorn was a speaker at Sovereign Grace's WorshipGod06 conference and at the Desiring God conference last year.
Blessings to you, young man.
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