cbuchanan@dejazzd.com

Some of my fondest memories of conversations with my son Joshua, now 14, are those we've had about what Heaven will be like! In the Book of Revelation, God pulls back the curtain on the future, for the apostle John, including a glimpse of "a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21.)"  He writes of the holy city, Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God (Rev. 21:2)   But the images are so foreign, so unimaginable, so ....unbelievable!  Who, but God himself, could possibly conceive of such a place?  So, we always end up bringing it back to earthly terms, and inevitably wind up laughing out loud!

Josh wants to know, if we are at church in Heaven, and he gets a little bored during the Sermon, will he be allowed to go hang out in the lobby for a little while with his buddies? And will they have yummy $1.00 cappuccinos at the "Connections Cafe," like we do at our beloved church?  What if I can't get to sleep at night?  Will we be able to get on the Internet when we want to, or might I be able to do some scrapbooking, one of my little hobbies?  No?  Bummer!  Oh, how we laugh!  "Hey, Mom!  Are we going to have to turn off our cell phones when we go in and out of certain mansions?"  My son hopes there will be signs posted about this, so he doesn't violate any of the rules!  I advised him to put his phone on "vibrate" if he hears a loud trumpet sounding. 

Heaven...

We're told that we'll have "perfect bodies," which will really  be heaven to me, having packed on a few extra pounds over the years!  Will our "bodies" resemble humans in any way, or will be be little smokey spirit waves or something? And, on a more serious note, will I be with my husband and son, or will we even know we ever had those relationships at all?  Will we be in a giant Praise and Worship Service for eternity?  Continuously praising God in song?  Awesome!  That happens to be my favorite past time!  Oh, the conversations we have, just dreaming, pondering, wondering...

It was initially surprising that my dear son and I seem to share some strange fear of Heaven, as most people do about the unknown.  This is one subject that has always fascinated me.   But in my 15 years as a Christian, I have talked to many other Believers about their true feelings about going to Heaven, or their "readiness" to go to Heaven, should Jesus return today, as He very well might!  "Behold! I am coming soon! (Rev. 23:7)  But when?!?  What a cliffhanger ending to an awesome Book!   Most people I've spoken to say that they feel like they should want to go to Heaven right now, to a perfect place to be with our Father, but they almost all agree that they have at least some degree of fear of the unknown that the thought of Heaven presents.  Of all the things to be afraid of in life, I don't think that our Lord would want us to consider Heaven among them.

I have come to this conclusion: I am living out my life with the goal of spending Eternity with God! This is that we all run the race to get!  With God, its not how you start, its how you finish, and I want to finish by spending my eternity with Jesus!  I'm dedicating my life to this!  If God desired for us to know precisely what it would be like for us on a day to day basis, He would have given us that information in His Word, don't you think?   He has so much in store for us, things He can't wait for us to see!  So much time spent preparing...

In times of trouble, many people say that God won't give you more than you can handle,  and I think this applies to the fantastic as well!   What if God pulled that curtain all the way back for us today?  We'd likely be so dumbfounded at the glory of it all, that we'd all wind up crashing our cars into trees or falling down flights of stairs in our utter dismay!   Perhaps God simply wants us to continue to humble ourselves before Him daily until His return, and just be grateful for the provision He has made for our eternity; that tremendous sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ,  without asking so many questions.

That said, I'll try to leave my silly fears and insecurities about the future at the Pearly Gates, and when my name is found in the Lamb's Book of Life, and Jesus says, "Well done, my good and faithful servant," I'll go running into His arms, into His Kingdom, and live happily ever after. Between now and then, however, I believe I'll be springing for that $1.00 cappuccino in our "Connections Cafe" every Sunday...because you never know...!

Copyright Cindy Buchanan