Because the book of Revelation foresees the merging of heaven and earth in ways that will be far better than we have ever known…
What if– heaven turns out to be far more like this world than we expected, but far beyond what we have ever imagined?
What if…we are headed for a heaven on earth that–in the presence of Christ– is full of challenge, excitement, danger, work, and rest? What if we get a chance to honor our Lord by learning from our mistakes, from one another, and from others who know more than ourselves?
What if the kingdom of heaven allows us to experience personal need, and even crises of immeasurable proportions? What if heaven has all of this and more… everything– but sin, death, and all of their relatives?
What if– in the presence and goodness of our ultimate Friend and Lord, we have such a heightened sense of how unthinkable it would be to not trust him that sin has no chance of ever coming between us again?
What if—in the age to come– we have such an overwhelming, constant sense of gratitude to God that all of our problems and needs are motivated by our desire to find new, creative ways to honor our God?
Imagine helping one another forever to find new ways of expressing our ability to delight in and show our gratitude to the One who died for us?
Yes, I know this is all speculation—except for one underlying assumption. For those in Christ heaven is going to be far better than anything we ever imagined.
Am reminded of the Apostle Paul who writes about a vision of heaven where he heard things he was not allowed to talk about (2Cor 12:4), and wrote,
“I’m torn between two desires: Sometimes I want to live, and sometimes I long to go and be with Christ. That would be far better for me, but it is better for you that I live. I am convinced of this, so I will continue with you so that you will grow and experience the joy of your faith (Philip 1:23-25, NLT)”…
Don’t know about you, but I can relate to Paul’s mixed feelings. Seems that what Christ has already done for us is our best reason for wanting to leave– to be with him… and that knowing how much he loves others is our best reason for wanting to stay… for the good of others…
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