HEAVEN'S NET!
Have you ever wondered what it would be like in Heaven? Of course you have! Such thoughts cross our minds for various reasons. Perhaps you've had a particularly bad day, and thoughts of Heaven are the only thing that keeps you going. Maybe you've had a great day and can't imagine how it could get any better. Then you remember, "Ah, yes, Heaven." Some days I long for Heaven with the thirst of a desert wanderer. Other days, Heaven is far from me, a foreign land, too far off in the distance for me to get a clear picture.
As Christians, we really need to keep our eyes on Heaven while we have our feet firmly planted on the ground, because it it the hope of Heaven that keeps us going when the going gets tough (sorry for slipping into football coach mode).
"But our citizenship is in Heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!"(Phil 3:20-4:1)
Can you imagine what it's going to be like? I doubt it. I certainly can't do justice to the image. I remember once thinking that I wouldn't really like Heaven very much. I mean, what do they do there? And what if it's boring? What does an eternity of being bored feel like? (Those of you who have heard my sermons, please refrain from commenting.) But then I start to wonder what it will feel like to understand the love of God through perfected eyes. What will it be like to be made perfect and see perfectly for the first time? What will it be like to fully understand the height and width and depth of God's love for us? What will it be like to truly love for the first time without selfishness and ulterior motives? What will pure love feel like? Hmmmm.
And what about the people we will meet? What about Joe down the street who, even though he has a wonderful faith, always rubs you the wrong way? Will Joe end up being a delight since he will be made perfect? And what about Anne, the women at the other end of the spectrum on every issue under the sun. Will you now see eye to eye with her? Will she see things your way or will you see things her way? Most likely you will both see things God way, the real way! Then there are the celebrities of Heaven. I have a few questions for Enoch and Elijah. I would love to do lunch with Moses and go hunting with David. And I already have time booked with Melchizedek. I got lots of questions for him!
One of the greatest passages about Heaven for me is, Revelation 7:9-12:
"After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb." All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: "Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!"
Wow! Powerful stuff, eh? (obligatory Canadian content) If statistics are right, most of you go to churches under 200 people. Imagine what it will be like to be together with people from all around the world, in a crowd too big to count, all glorifying the Lord? You know why I like this passage so much? I like it because it reminds me that God is bigger than my church, bigger than my theology. He is bigger than my neighborhood, my city, my country. Our God is big and he has many people who love Him, and who have a reason to celebrate because they have trusted in the "Salvation that belongs to our God, who sits on the throne."
The past few weeks have made me think about this passage a lot because I've been having a blast with a bunch of crazy Christian nuts (you know who you are), who care and share with each other even though we don't all live in the same town, or go to the same church. To me they're just wonderful Christian people, and to them, I hope, I'm considered just another crazy Christian from Canada. The Net has done something nothing else has so far. . it has brought people who love Jesus together to rub virtual shoulders and celebrate around the throne here and now. A little foreshadowing of Heaven here on the Net. Boy, I can hardly wait for the real thing!
