Weekends are a time of reflection for me. I was listening to Gaither gospel this evening and it brought my mind back to thinking about heaven, something I do a lot anymore.
I know it can’t be far away and my mind goes there often. I have peace about that but the enemy of our souls loves to put thoughts into our minds that can be disrupting and I have to fight that a lot.
I have failed in so many ways and at so many times. When you live 79 years and be involved in as many things as I have, and interacted with as many people as I have, you have an opportunity to make lots of mistakes, say many things you regret later, and I just thank those I have offended knowingly and unknowingly, and certainly unintentionally, for extending grace to me even though I didn’t deserve it.
So many times my zeal far exceeded my wisdom. I’m glad the Lord knew my heart and I am grateful for His grace but also for His mercy. There is a big theological difference in those two attributes and I, probably better than many, understand that. And I will just leave it there.
I like to think about what heaven will be like, although we cannot possibly comprehend it at all. I find it interesting that John the Revelator uses up a lot of time discussing what won’t be there. And that is understandable. We humans get so tired of all the annoyances of life and its tribulations that we tend to dwell exclusively on them.
First he promises there will be no tears in heaven and then he elaborates by continuing: no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain. Wow! I have grieved over so many who have died, many before their time - my beautiful 16 year old sister, my handsome and talented younger brother, just out of the Navy, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, more friends than I could ever count. As a pastor I have conducted so many funerals. I have seen so many tears shed, and witnessed so much grief. I have seen marriages break up and parents disappointed when hurt by their children, friends betrayed by people they trusted. So many tears. But they will never be seen again in heaven.
And can we talk about pain? I am not the only one to have known pain, but it’s easier to talk about experience than just observation. Since the diagnosis I received back in 1997, I have not had one day without pain. Some were worse than others, but it was always there reminding me my life was forever changed. I have chosen not to go the way of narcotic pain relief and I have not regretted that but there have been times when I wondered how much longer. But enough about that and I know those who have suffered from cancer and other disabilities and illnesses have known much more pain than I have. So is it any wonder we love reading John’s words in Revelation 21 that there will be no pain in heaven.
Also in that chapter John writes there will be no night there. So many people suffer in the night time. When you can’t sleep and the hours drag by and you wish for the morning which seems never to come. Won’t happen in heaven!
No sin, no crime, no vandalism, no fear of being out on the streets of heaven. No little children’s bodies riddled with bullets in the classroom. No church services interrupted by an invader with guns blazing. No invasions at hospitals, or stores, or your home, or on the roadside, or near subways. Absolutely no fear anywhere for all is peace in heaven. John writes “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful.”
In verse 8 John says “the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice witchcraft, the idolaters and all liars will be sent to the fiery lake”. In other words they won’t be in heaven.
There will be angels, and light, and reunions with our loved ones who had been born again and had followed Christ. There will be music, not just choirs of voices, but beautiful instruments. There will be joy such as we’ve never known here on earth. And most of all there will be eternity for worshipping Christ. He will walk among us, and take little children in His arms, and wipe the tears from our eyes and love us. What exactly will that be like? I don’t know. I can type words but words cannot express what heaven will be. Will he help us understand why children had to die, and why people were tortured? I don’t know. That probably will have been erased from our minds the minute we enter those gates, but I don’t know.
I do believe we will have a spiritual understanding that will far exceed what our minds can grasp here, a maturity and intelligence that will enable us to sit down with the giants of faith - Moses and Abraham and Paul and Peter and Timothy and John - and be able to discuss things with them on their level. And for whatever it is worth, I believe the words of the songwriter will be fulfilled - we will understand it better by and by.
Joan Rowden Hart copyright January 14, 2023
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