Sometimes we realize that we actually know nothing about a thing we thought we knew a lot about. Most times its simply because we hear, but we do not listen, and we look, but we do not see. Today we are going to talk about one of those things.
If you ask a bunch of non-believers with very little knowledge about Christianity, what we believe in, one of the first things they would probably say is: Heaven. You may have a lot of questions about it yourself and wonder about a lot of things regarding the afterlife, but I’m taking us back to the basics, back to what we think we already know. Some of you might already have discovered it, but here is for those of you who might have a misconception about heaven.
Heaven is a place where there is peace, no pain, no hurt, no sadness and no suffering. Where you get to live forever in perfect harmony, in beauty your heart cannot dream of. This is true yes, BUT if that is what you are waiting for, you’re waiting for crumbs. You are missing out now and you’re seriously not close to knowing what it really is He bought for you.
This is the last thing most, if not anyone, would answer if they are asked why they want to go to heaven and it really should be the first and only answer. Jesus. That’s it, Jesus. He didn’t lay down His life just so that you could go and retire in a perfect paradise, no! He gave EVERYTHING He had so that you could be reunited with HIM. So that He could go and prepare a place in the Fathers house, not for luxury and riches, but for us to be with Him.
There is peace and unthinkable joy, because HE is there. It is perfect, because it is where you will be home with the One who created you, Whom paid the highest price to bring you home. He is the beginning and the end and everything in between. Nothing would ever be perfect, unless He is in it. Nothing in this world or anywhere else, not any amount of it, will ever satisfy your soul if God is not in the center of it.
He is where we will find our peace. He is where we are made complete again. Paul said: “I am longing for my Lord” when he was faced with prosecution. He did not say He was longing for heaven, the goal was not to get to a painless place with peace and tranquility, no, it was to be with Jesus. Heaven would simply just not be worth it, if Jesus weren’t there waiting for us. Nothing would be worth it if He didn’t choose us.
The moral of the story is this: You won’t want heaven if you don’t want Jesus. He is the essence of perfection, the Glory and unimaginable joy of life, and if you don’t know Him and don’t spend any time in prayer, giving Him just a little bit of patience to see that He does listen, and He is very much interested to blow your mind, you just don’t know what you are missing out on.
He loves you literally more than you can understand. He was thinking of you even before you knew He existed. He came down from glory and made Himself the least, suffered a terrible death, a sinner’s death, one we were meant to have, so that He could give you a forever home in HIS house. Jesus didn’t give us just that, He gave us His Spirit to guide us and comfort us while we are still in this imperfect world until we can go home.
His desire is for us to have the full measure of His joy, this is what He was thinking of when He was lead to the slaughter. At any given moment He could have turned around and walked away, He is God, He could have done that, but with every single lash, every single strike to His body and in every second He hung from nothing, but nails driven through His flesh, He thought of you. YOU were the only reason He endured all that pain and even though He could have save Himself, He didn’t, because to Him, you were worth it.
It was His life for yours. Jesus didn’t give you peace, love and joy, Jesus IS peace, love and joy and He gave Himself to you so that you may have life in abundance. Heaven is reaching out His hand to you and longing for you to get to know Him. Jesus said this in Matthew 10:7 “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near” He was talking about Himself. Everything good about heaven IS Jesus and when you come to know the One who choose you, you will realize that nothing could ever compare, no riches, no desires, no pleasures, nothing in all of existence can compare to the love of God.
So when we pray: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” We are saying: Lord, let Your perfect, pure and undying joy manifest itself within us, let Your love change us from the inside and heal our wounds, Let Your peace cover us like a blanket, teach us and guide us so that we may take on Your character and learn to love like You do, let us be a vessel through which You can shine Your light into the darkness of this world, let them see Your Glory and grace. Bring to us all that is perfect and good, let it be here with us as it is there with You.”
God bless, Miryna van As