Considering Heaven
Barbara Henderson
My mother in law died a few weeks
ago. She was a professing Christian, a
member of the same church for most of her adult life, and she worked in the
nursery for at least fifty years. She
joined her husband in heaven and many other relatives and friends including my
dad. So, my mind has been on
heaven. I think about heaven often
anyway. I wonder about how things will
work there. The Bible is clear that it
is more wonderful than we can grasp, but I still try to get a mental picture of
how it will be. I discount the stories
of heaven given by those who claim to have died, gone to heaven, and come
back. There is no way to put their
personal experiences within the boundaries of exactly what the Bible teaches. It is just an unexplainable experience. I think we have all had experiences we can’t
explain but these experiences are NOT new revelation from God. However, there are still some things we can
figure out about heaven.
God is not a god of confusion, so
there isn’t going to be any confusion in heaven!
No
more confusion:
Earthly illness, especially in the
elderly, can lead to confusion. It is
very hard to watch someone you care for become disoriented, forgetful, and
sometimes totally lose all concepts of the current situation and reality. It is heartbreaking. But in heaven those who left this life in a
confused state will never be confused again.
We often think how wonderful that they aren’t sick or in pain anymore,
and this is wonderful truth. But, if you
could ask them about their new reality, they would probably tell you they are
more thankful that they aren’t confused any more than for their new and eternal
health. They are aware of what is going
on all the time, and they are able to enjoy everything. Confusion will never be their portion again.
While the confusion that the sick and
elderly face is obvious, there is a less obvious confusion that we all face
daily. We just don’t know what to do
part of the time! We may be doing
everything we know to do, but we don’t know what to do to improve a
situation. We don’t know what to do
concerning some investments, moves, family situations, or a host of other
things. We are confused! There simply isn’t a clear path. Fortunately, we are not confused regarding
the boundaries set by our Christian faith. We know to continue doing what is right
according to the Bible and wait on the Lord to make help us make wise
choices. While we wait on the Lord we do
face some confusion. Abraham and Sarah
faced confusion regarding the timing of the birth of their promised son. They tried to work it out themselves instead
of waiting on the Lord. You know the end
result of that! It is almost 100%
certain that when we don’t know what to do in a situation, it is best to do
nothing until the Lord makes it clear what we are to do. In the
midst of confusion we are to wait patiently and look to God in faith
continually to show us what to do. 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 says,
12. ‘For now we see through a glass,
darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even
as also I am known.
13. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these
three; but the greatest of these is charity.’
Sometimes it is like we are trying to
see and drive through a thick fog when it comes to making a choice. We can become confused as to exactly where
the white line on the road is located!
But in heaven there won’t be any more fog to cause confusion. No more confusion – what a blessing. In the meantime remember what verse thirteen
says – faith, hope, and charity abide.
Focus on these things and especially on charity. (Love)
No
more peer pressure:
If we are being honest with ourselves,
we would all have to admit that we are sometimes influenced by peer pressure to
do something we really aren’t that keen on doing. Let’s say it isn’t even something
sinful. It is just something that a lot
of people we know are doing, and we feel sort of pressured into doing the same
thing. Since it wasn’t something we
wanted to do, it turns out to be a boring, a waste of time, and an experience
we would rather have skipped altogether.
Peer pressure is something that is
hardest on children.
One of the reasons for choosing
homeschool for children is the avoidance of peer pressure. In a home school situation our kids have the
chance to just be themselves. They
aren’t worried about what the other kids are wearing or doing. They aren’t trying to keep up with the
popular kids in recreational activities.
They aren’t trying to make sure they have all the newest gadgets that
the popular kids are carrying around.
They figure out what they actually want to do and work with their
parents to be able to do that. They
figure out what they personally like to wear and that is what they wear. They figure out what they love without being
unduly influenced to love the things everyone else loves. It is a win win situation.
In heaven we will have the perfect
example of God Himself without anything in between us.
No
more popularity contests:
It starts in day care for most
people. Some of the occupants of the day
care center are just ‘more popular’ than others. They are the ones who dress the best, bring
the best toys, and have all the other kids following their leads. It is very possible that they are total
brats. And, they may be mean brats! You see, in order for them to be part of an
elite group there must be some toddlers who are shut out of the group. Those in
the in-crowd are very adamant that don’t want to play or share with some of the
children. This behavior continues all the way through school and into the adult
world. These people have identified
themselves as ‘the elite’. The ‘in crowd’ must have an audience; that means
some people must always be shut out of the group. Those outside the group are those who are
allowed to observe the group and wish they could be in the group. If you think
is a little on the nutty side to say small children have the capacity for such
behavior I challenge you to spend a few hours just observing little ones at
play. If you have three kids two will
band together and shut the other one out.
Adults can work at teaching them better behavior, but that is not how
they naturally behave. Unfortunately
this often carries over into adulthood!
You probably know or even work with people
like who never got over their childhood need to be popular. They are dividers. I don’t know how they do it, but they manage
to divide a group of people into at least two groups within a week of joining a
work force. There is a third group who
flatly don’t care who is in what group. They just do their own thing. That is my favorite group. But you can’t discount the fact that so much
of what happens around us is based on who is popular and who isn’t. In heaven the role model will be God, and He
won’t shut anyone out. And there won’t
be any of the garbage that goes along with trying to be Mr. or Miss
Popular.
No
more tears in heaven:
‘And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying,
neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.’
Revelation 21:4
Tears come for a variety of
reasons. I know there are people who say
they cry when they are happy, but that person is not me! Tears come from sorrow. There won’t be any of that in heaven for any
reason! No one will face the sorrow of a
death of or separation from a loved one or friend. No one will cry because of fear. Tears will not come because of physical pain
or emotional pain. Misunderstanding and
hurt feelings will not happen so they won’t bring tears.
Heaven is a wonderful place, so you
may be wondering exactly…..
How
do you get into heaven?
In John 14:6 Jesus said, ‘Jesus saith
unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.’
John 11:25 says, ‘Jesus said unto her,
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live:’.
It is entirely true that God Almighty
has made only one way into heaven. Jesus
Christ is the way.
There is no need of a second way into
heaven because:
The
way provided is adequate for all who want to go to heaven! (Luke 14:22 promises ‘And the
servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.’)
The
way is clear – it is
through Jesus alone. (John 14:6)
The
invitation is extended to everyone.
(2 Peter 3:9 tells us, ‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some
men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’)
It
is not complicated!
(Ephesians 2:8 tells us, ‘For by grace
are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:’.)
Everyone
who accepts the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ is adopted into the
family of God and has full rights as privileges of children of God. (Romans 8:17 says, ‘And if children,
then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer
with him, that we may be also glorified together.’)
All this considered it is clear that
if God made a second way into heaven it would be an inferior way because the
ONE WAY is PERFECT.
Don’t miss heaven because of
misconceptions regarding the ‘unfairness’ of one way or the ‘strictness’ of one
way. The absolute truth is that God is
utterly and continually perfect, and you are not. There is no way to get into heaven except
through the one way which is through Jesus Christ.
The first song for this article is ‘At
Calvary’, and my favorite line is ‘Oh the mighty gulf that God did span at
Calvary’. Jesus made a bridge across
that mighty gulf between perfection and sin.
Don’t miss heaven. ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved.’ (Acts 16:31)
The second song is ‘Come Unto
Me’. I love the line that says ‘Come no
longer tarry. I your load will
bear. Bring Me every burden. Bring me every care’. Well, I also love the part that says, ‘Come,
my yoke is easy, and my burden light.’
At
Calvary
Come
Unto Me (I will give
you rest)
Barbara Henderson
I still need some kind reviews of my
book ‘Everyday Prepping for Beginners’.
I currently have three VERY negative reviews by people who object to the
Christian content of the book. Thank
you.
