Right now we are all faced with the danger of a virus, a sickness that can kill. It has taken the lives of thousands. It has brought pain, weakness, and sorrow. It has interrupted our normal ways of living. It has kept us from being with family, brethren, and friends. This current virus has been another reminder of the fragile, temporal world in which we live.
Our life is but a vapor or mist (James 4:13-16). We don’t know how long we will live on this earth but we know one way or another we will all face death (Hebrews 9:27). It’s the reality we’re faced with. Spend time reading the book of Ecclesiastes in which Solomon vividly describes our mortal and very temporal situation. In this physical life we are going to get sick. Have pain. Feel sorrow. Get tired. Struggle. Endure. Become lonely. The list goes on.
All of this, the virus and all hardships of this life, should make us see even more how beautiful Heaven will be. Think about it. In Heaven there will be no viruses! No sickness, pain, or death. No sorrow, sadness, or grief. We won’t have to say goodbye or be apart from the ones we love. We’ll all be together in the presence of our great God and Savior. We’ll never get tired or hungry. There will be no darkness. No evil. No sin.
Wow. It’s really unfathomable. We can’t even begin to imagine how beautiful it will be to be in Heaven. It is beyond our comprehension. The bad things in this physical life should cause us to long more and more to be in Heaven with God. This world is not our home. Thanks be to God! What peace and rest there will be in Heaven. I can’t wait.
Paul told the Philippians in Philippians 1:21-23 that to die and get to go be with Christ is gain and far better than anything this world has to offer. That needs to be our mindset. We need to long to be with Christ in eternity. We will be far better off.
Don’t you want to go? I do. Don’t listen to or give in to the thinking of Kenny Chesney’s song about how everybody wants to go to Heaven but nobody wants to go right now because we’re having too much fun here on earth. That’s just stupid. And foolish. If we really know God and want to be with Him in Heaven then we should be ready to be there ASAP. We need to long for Heaven. We need to live in such a way that we can go to Heaven. Because if you miss Heaven, then you’ve missed it all.
How beautiful Heaven will be. Let’s go there together. Praise God that we can.
A Cord of Blue 