The joys of heaven (1)

If we’re honest, we don’t really think or talk much about heaven until a loved one dies, or we grow old and feel like we have fulfilled our assignment here on earth. Then we feel a tug pulling us in the direction of heaven. And we should. On average, we’ll spend about seventy or eighty years here, but we’ll spend eternity there. ‘We shall always be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV). Life on earth is only temporary, but God has places for us all in heaven. Here on earth, life can be a bit of an uncertain mixture – sometimes we do well, other times not so well. But in heaven, we’ll become just like Jesus. ‘We are citizens of heaven…we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own’ (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT). C.S. Lewis wrote that in heaven each of us will be a ‘dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine’. All the patriarchs, prophets, and preachers in the Bible longed for heaven. Zechariah describes it in these words: ‘They’ll become…like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colours of the sun. Then…they’ll shine!’ (Zechariah 9:16-17 MSG). Are you absolutely certain that you’ll go to heaven, or do you wonder if you’re good enough? The truth is, we can be certain of a home in heaven simply by putting our trust in Jesus.