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Reflections on Heaven

Posted on March 17, 2010 by Marlo Jenkins

How much time do you spend thinking about Heaven?

This week I have been thinking about heaven more than I normally do. I must admit, that’s because I’m speaking on the theme “Looking Ahead” this coming Sunday in our morning gathering. I have enjoyed thinking about it, not as an escape (although I am looking forward to possessing a body that will have no tendonitis), but as a place where I will be able to truly live as God originally intended each one of us to live… in perfect and intimate relationship with him.

I am glad that heaven will not be what the common caricature is – i.e. lying listlessly on a cloud, wearing a white robe playing a harp – not for me thanks! It will be God, in his amazing creativity, unfolding an eternal adventure. I am also glad that heaven is not a place we have to work to gain. If that were the case, I’m not sure I would make it. The work was done by the coming of Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection. When we trust in who Jesus is and what he did on the cross for us, we are assured that heaven is our eternal home. Looking ahead to heaven with that kind of confidence can make a significant difference in the way we live now and in how we deal with the difficulty that we all face in this world.

Looking ahead should not draw us away from this world, so that we’re disengaged. Looking ahead to heaven should cause us to be very much engaged with people we occupy this planet with. The reality of heaven in our future, as Christ-followers, should make us more compassionate and loving citizens of earth.

I think we should take time to ‘look ahead’ a little more often.