Jonathan Edwards wrote of Heaven:
“No inhabitants of that blessed world will ever be grieved with the thought that they are slighted by those whom they love, or that their love is not fully and fondly returned …. There shall be no such thing as flattery or insincerity in Heaven, but there perfect sincerity shall reign through all in all. Everyone will be just what they seem to be, and they’ll really have all the love that they seem to have. It will not be as in this world, where comparatively few things are what they seem to be, and where professions are often made lightly and without meaning. But there, every expression of love shall come from the bottom of the heart, and all that is professed shall be real and truly felt.”
Once at home in Heaven, the hungry will fill up, those who weep will laugh, and those who suffer tragedy will be compensated the victory.
i realize this is a lot of very positive and wonderful stuff about something that isn’t in the here and now. And i realize most of us might be far more interested in things we can do in the now to help our present circumstances or situations….. BUT, in putting the idea of home on the table and talking about being at home with Jesus, eating and talking with God, family, friends, and all the participants of the entire salvation message from beginning to end, it generates hope, the anticipation of becoming and overcoming….. and i believe hope is in very short supply in our world.
Revelation 21:3-5
“3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””
Those are the words of Jesus and we can take it to the bank. Live everyday in light of them. Let me encourage you to make every choice in light of God’s promises. C.S. Lewis wrote, “A man who has been in another world does not come back unchanged. A man who gives sustained thought to God and his future Home in Heaven, does not remain the same. He smells the banquet being prepared for him and he’ll never be the same, in Jesus Name.”
Randy Alcorn wrote in his book titled “Heaven”, “We were all made for a person and a place. Jesus is that person. Heaven is that place. If you know Jesus, i’ll be with you in that resurrected world. With the Lord we love and with the friends we cherish, we’ll embark together on the ultimate adventure, in a spectacular new universe awaiting our exploration and dominion. Jesus will be the center of all things, and joy will be the air we breathe. And right when we think it all couldn’t get any better …. it will!”