Tag Archives: heaven

“We’re going on an Adventure”

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Children are notorious for calling it the way they see it, literally. Though they can role-play all kinds of imaginary figures, their imagination is grounded in concrete terms. I was startled recently by what one of my grandsons asked me. I’ll set it up for you.

Ever since Joseph (now 6) and Gabriel (now 5) were able to walk I would take them on “an adventure.” Using language of anticipation, awe, and excitement, I would take them on an adventure into the woods or some other place where I could fascinate their minds and senses. Over time they came to frequently ask with wide eyes, “grandpa take us on another adventure.”

A few weeks ago we were in West Virginia visiting my mom; Joey and Ashley were with us, and their three boys. It was time to go on an adventure on my dad’s four wheeler. I decided to show the boys my most favorite spot: directly behind my parents home through the woods, about a half mile, is what has come to be known as Pirates Cove on Summersville Lake. I first saw this sight when I was seven; my uncle Benny brought me to this cliff and I was mesmerized by the beauty, and the height. So, with excitement and anticipation in my voice, I began telling the boys as we headed out that I was going to give them a great adventure into the woods four-wheeling to “one of the most beautiful places that you’ll ever see.”

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We got as close as we could to the cliff, parked the four wheeler and began the final 100 yard walk through the woods to this majestic edge that overlooks the lake. Getting closer to where you could just barely see blue sky through the leaves, I stopped and got down on the boys eye level and asked with excitement, “What do you hear?” Gabriel and Joseph both said, “I hear people laughing.” I responded, “That is right.” This cove is famous for cliff diving, photo-ops, and hanging out on boats, anchors away! But then I asked, “What else do you hear?” Joseph spoke up like he discovered a secret treasure, “I hear water.” It’s a beautiful sound to hear in the thick of the woods as the water from the streams flow over one of the cliffs, splashing 60 feet down onto the blue water. About this time the boys were completely and fully alert for something spectacular. “Are you ready to see something wonderful?,” I asked. They both just stood there grinning from ear to ear shaking their heads up and down with approval. I stood up and we began the last 30 yards or so. Then, Gabriel grabbed my arm and stopped me and said . . .

Remember what I said about a child’s ability to concretely, literally, say it like they see it? What came out of his mouth made me speechless. With eyes now wider than ever and with the kind of joyful anticipation that only a person would express when you really believe that you’re about to come into something truly breath-taking, he said, “Are we going to see your dad?!?!?”

Joseph’s eyes and mouth opened even wider now. My eyes filled with water and I was stunned into silence and amazement that Gabriel thought I was taking them into heaven to see my dad. They knew something was strangely odd about the sounds and sights ahead, and for Gabriel, the only natural thing that could explain the echoing of water and laughter was heaven, and the sight of my dad, their great grandpa.

The only natural explanation for the desire of eternal life that you feel deep inside of you is that heaven is real because Jesus is real. I’ll never forget this time with my grandsons and I’ll never let them forget it. The greatest adventure is ahead of us . . . as Jesus said, where nothing can ever steal our joy again (Matthew 6:19-21).

What did I say to Gabriel’s question that was filled with excitement and hope?

Taking a deep breath as if now this rock cliff and lake will not measure up,

“Not yet – not today.”

“I can’t wait to go to heaven because . . .”

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As one who confesses that God sent his son Jesus to save me from the consequences of my sin, and to “prepare a place” for me, and to clothe me in a body that will never die, and to give me access to all that God has for me in his son, is it ok to want to be in heaven for anything other than Jesus? To the point, if a loved one dies in the Lord, is it saintly to desire heaven because you want to be with someone besides/other than/along with Jesus?

This is tricky, mostly because our hearts are naturally deceptive and can masquerade false motives (Jer. 17:9; Heb. 4:12). Which of these expressions feels comfortable to you and which do not?

I want to go to heaven to see ____, and Jesus too.

I want to go to heaven to see ____, other than Jesus.

I want to go to heaven to see _____. Oh yes, Jesus would be nice too.

I want to go to heaven to see _____. Jesus? It doesn’t matter if I see him or not.

I want to go to heaven to see Jesus because it’s better than the alternative.

I want to go to heaven because I love Jesus most of all.

Regardless of religious conviction or persuasion, most people want to go some place when they die, they don’t want to go nowhere. And most people who want to go some place when they die want to go to a place where, at least in their minds, is a place where nearly every desire is fulfilled. Most people don’t want to go to a place that makes the worst experience here, seem like a casual pleasant stroll through the countryside. Most people instinctively want to go to a place where what was lost is restored – and then some. This is natural. This is a witness of not only our humanity, but also of something out there, that if we do not apprehend it as an eternal possession, we feel less than human and unfulfilled.

The longing for heaven was not put in us by crusty theologians who have nothing better to do than to theologize. It was put in us by the one who made us (Ecc. 3:11). To quote C.S. Lewis, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

For me, the only expression above that works for me is the last one. But this is not a cold criticism of those who express a deep desire to see a loved one who has gone on to be with the Lord. This is not pitting a loved one against Jesus to see which is your most favorite. Nor is this an attempt to dismiss and explain away the anguish of being alone by saying, “You won’t want to see your loved one once you see Jesus.” Nonsense. If heaven is anything it is a place where lovers of Christ receive “the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7), an innumerable festal gathering of angels along with a massive assembly of all the enrolled of heaven (Heb. 12:22-23). What a Party!

For me, my best expression is this:

I want to go to heaven because I want to see the one who loved me enough to save me from the consequences of my sin – I want to see the most spectacular Person who is truly worthy of all my affection. I can’t tell you who I’ll see first, Jesus, or my loved one, who also died loving Jesus, evidently, for the same reason. But . . . if I should see my loved one first, before Jesus, the most appropriate response would be to run up with arms wide open, embrace, laugh, swing with elation, cry and jump with joyful tears, xoxoxoxox, lol, “like”, and anything else that would express over-the-top pleasure. But then, as my eye would look past and see the unmistakable visage of the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, smiling with approval and delight over my joy, I would immediately drop everything that I was doing, and with all of my being plummet at his feet in humble adoration. I would, no, I will worship him for saving sinners by grace, including me. I will thank him for saving my loved one without any sense of entitlement for my own presence there.

I don’t know who I’ll see first when I get to heaven, but this I know, when I see Jesus, then I will know that I am finally home. Whoever else is there, will be Jesus’ way of saying,

“This is for our mutual delight, for ever and ever – it’s a gift from my Father to us – Enjoy!” (John 17).

Husband, Wife, does it annoy you to consider . . .

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. . . that you will have complete admiration and love for the other in heaven? You see, if you are both in Christ and will be with Christ when you die, then this means that all that hinders love will be gone and there will be nothing but joy and delight in the other as with all other saints. Does it annoy you to think that all the contempt, anger, revenge, distrust, repudiation that you presently feel in your heart for your spouse, that when in heaven – POOF?! Gone. For not only will all the sin be obliterated in your spouse that stirred up your disdain for your spouse, but also all the sin that you justified in your heart to hold a grudge will finally be conquered by the lovely Savior. I ask again: Does it irritate you to think that in heaven you will have sweet and delightful, open and honest, generous and courteous, pleasurable and satisfying, enjoyable and stimulating, affectionate and exhilarating conversation and fellowship with your spouse?

If it annoys you to be so overwhelmed with the love of God that your relationship with your spouse will be as perfect as the Father’s is with his Son, then what does this say about your need to know more of the love of God? I fear that too many husbands and wives who say they are going to heaven but can’t fathom enjoying each other there, have not truly contemplated what heaven is and their own present need for change.

Recently I reflected again on Jonathan Edwards’ sermon that I’ve read several times over the years, “Heaven, A World of Charity or Love.” Hands down, it’s the most nourishing sermon on heaven’s love that I have ever read. Here are a few quotes from the sermon, which is found in his book, Charity And Its Fruits (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1852):

“Here I remark that the God of love himself dwells in heaven. Heaven is the palace or presence-chamber of the high and holy One, whose name is love, and who is both the cause and source of all holy love . . . and this renders heaven a world of love; for God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light.” (pg. 326)

After taking us on a patient stroll of heaven’s love – God himself in Christ, Edwards then turns to the saints and shows us what divine love we will have for the other, reciprocated with as much delight as having been loved by the other and by the God of love himself:

“The saints shall know that God loves them, and they shall never doubt the greatness of his love, and they shall have no doubt of the love of all their fellow-inhabitants in heaven. And they shall not be jealous of the constancy of each other’s love. They shall have no suspicion that the love which others have felt toward them is abated, or in any degree withdrawn from themselves for the sake of some rival, or by reason of anything in themselves which they suspect is disagreeable to others, or through any inconstancy in their own hearts or the hearts of others. Nor will they be in the least afraid that the love of any will ever be abated toward them. There shall be no such thing as inconstancy and unfaithfulness in heaven, to molest and disturb the friendship of that blessed society. The saints shall have no fear that the love of God will ever abate towards them, or that Christ will not continue always to love them with unabated tenderness and affection. And they shall have no jealousy one of another, but shall know that by divine grace the mutual love that exists between them shall never decay nor change.” (pg. 340-41)

“There shall be no wall of separation in heaven to keep the saints asunder, nor shall they be hindered from the full and complete enjoyment of each other’s love by distance of habitation; for they shall all be together, as one family, in their heavenly Father’s house. Nor shall there be any want of full acquaintance to hinder the greatest possible intimacy; and much less shall there be any misunderstanding between them, or misinterpreting things that are said or done by each other. There shall be no disunion through difference of temper, or manners, or circumstances, or from various opinions, or interests, or feelings, or alliances; but all shall be united in the same interests, and all alike allied to the same Savior, and all employed in the same business, serving and glorifying the same God.”   (pg. 343)

When I am annoyed in loving those that I will spend an eternity with in heaven, I meditate on heaven’s love and then set my heart in line with what is to come. O how I long to experience this kind of love for all the saints, one of which is my wife. I hope you too desire to know the love of God in full measure.

Jesus is Better than Godiva Chocolate

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Jonathan Edwards wrote, “Heaven, A World of Love” – a sermon on how satisfying heaven will be for us because nothing will ever hinder us again from enjoying Jesus Christ. Here is a sweet morsel from that sermon: 

“In heaven there shall be no remaining enmity, or distaste, or coldness, or deadness of heart towards God and Christ. Not the least remainder of any principle of envy shall exist to be exercised toward angels or other beings who are superior in glory; nor shall there be aught like contempt or slighting of those who are inferiors . . .The saints shall know that God loves them, and they shall never doubt the greatness of his love, and they shall have no doubt of the love of all their fellow inhabitants in heaven. And they shall not be jealous of the constancy of each other’s love. They shall have no suspicion that the love which others have felt toward them is abated, or in any degree withdrawn from themselves for the sake of some rival, or by reason of anything in themselves which they suspect is disagreeable to others, or through any inconstancy in their own hearts or the hearts of others. Nor will they be in the least afraid that the love of any will ever be abated toward them. There shall be no such thing as inconstancy and unfaithfulness in heaven, to molest and disturb the friendship of that blessed society. The saints shall have no fear that the love of God will ever abate towards them, or that Christ will not continue always to love them with unabated tenderness and affection. And they shall have no jealousy one of another, but shall know that by divine grace the mutual love that exists between them shall never decay nor change.”

Given the fact that Satan was evicted from heaven (Isa. 14:12-15), is a first-class liar (John 8:44), and blasphemes his former residence where he mounted a revolt (Rev. 13:6), it should come as no surprise to lovers of Jesus Christ that this world will suckle on all kinds of wrong things about heaven: how to get there, the nature of the place, and what it is for –  if it exists at all. Satan hates heaven (because it is where God dwells in absolute holiness and grace), and he is envious of heaven at the same time (because that is the place where he wanted to reign as supreme).

An observation of our world would bring you to the conclusion that people of all cultures and ages believe in a heaven, how to get there and the nature of the place. For many Islamic extremists, the means to getting to heaven is good works which can include the elimination of non-Muslims, and the nature of heaven is one-night stands forever!

But the rest of the world is not isolated from Satan’s schemes; his lies come in thousands of shades. Notice our own culture and you will have to agree that people believe that you can get to heaven by being moderately good, and the nature of heaven is a place where you get everything that you didn’t down here, and all the things that you did – just more of it. I think that you would also agree that the longing for heaven, or a heaven of some sort where there is unending pleasure is God’s doing – he is the one who “put eternity in our hearts” (Ecc. 3:11). Man’s groping for eternity is a signpost upon our humanity that we were made for something more than this. Which raises this question:

Why do people want to go to a heaven? Not the real one, but a heaven made in their image? Because, 1) man was made to long for more (that’s a good reason); 2) man wants to live forever with man at the center (that’s a bad reason). Because man is blinded by his own sin and Satan is perpetually lying to him about heaven, man will seek to get to heaven by his own means, and will make a heaven in his own image.

But Heaven is all about God and His Son Jesus Christ – A Father who gives a bride to his Son to enjoy each other’s presence for ever and ever, with not a single ho-hum day (Ephesians 1 & 2:7).

Read this advertisement from Godiva Chocolates and then ask yourself: Does this language of heaven promote the real and true heaven or does it reflect our culture that trivializes heaven?

                                     NOW EVERYONE CAN GET HEAVEN  

Perhaps you’ve sinned once or twice. But when you indulge in the luscious richness of our delectable milk chocolate truffles, you too will experience your own little moment in heaven.

What did this delectable advertisement teach us? That sin is not a hindrance for heaven, that we rarely if ever sin, that everyone can have heaven now by indulging in whatever will bring you temporary pleasure, and that heaven is a place of your making. I would be nit-picking and making a mountain out of a mole hill if this was not the general consensus of our culture. But I assure you – it is! The Gloria Jeans Coffee Shoppe in Westfield Mall has a sign posted: “If there’s no coffee in heaven, then I’m not going.”

For the sake of our eternal souls, let us stir our affections up for heaven and feast on as much of it as we can now by asking God to bring his hallowed name and his kingdom to earth. Yes, I’ve tasted Godiva Chocolates and Jesus Christ –  there’s no comparison! If chocolate is in heaven that will be good. But if Jesus is not – then I don’t want to go.