“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘…and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)
Until one passes through the turn style at various entertainment venues, the beauty, joy and sheer delight of being there is hard to comprehend. It’s that way for me, as old as I am when considering Disney World in Orlando, FL, or the ballpark at Arlington. One place on this earth that would be most satisfying would be a little place in Dubuque County, Iowa where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed. Just to walk on the grounds, stand on the field, breathe the air and imagine … that would be mighty fine!
There is more to live for, yea even die for, than anything this life can offer to us. And that ‘more to live for’ is the dwelling place of God that He has named HEAVEN! Life on this little planet has been our home all of our lives. There is much beauty to behold, senses to be stimulated, and to a degree, satisfaction. But as Job observes, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.” (Job 14:1)
It is hard to imagine, difficult to get our hands around, this truth God shares with us in His holy and inspired word. Although we are given only a glimpse of heaven with its beauty and splendor, rest and peace, we do understand there is great disparity between where we are now and where we hope to be when life as we know it on earth has ended!
May we all be reminded of this beautifully prepared place that our Lord is already dwelling in. A place where there will be …
- No more mystery about His home.
- No more tears of any kind.
- No more sorrow or disappointment.
- No more heartache.
- No more suicide.
- No more who is right and who is wrong; who is faithful and who is unfaithful.
- No more meanness, unkind words or deeds.
- No more getting even or paying back.
- No more disabilities, handicaps, cancer treatment centers, dialysis centers, addiction facilities, funeral homes.
May we encourage you to take some time and stretch your mind to take in all of these truths and lay them up in your heart for safe-keeping, self-comforting, and self-guiding!
There are so many things that I don’t know, but this is one thing I do know: Any place where God plans to be, I want to go there! We are not home yet! We have much to do, there is work on every hand, there are good things to be doing, ways to be better people, and preparation of our heart to spend eternity with the One who made us and to do so face to face!
We can’t buy our way, bribe our way or talk our way into heaven! But through obtaining our own faith through the hearing, believing and obeying of God’s instructions, we can hear when all of this life has ended, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joys of your Lord.” (Matthew 25:23)
May each of us, then, open our ears that we may hear clearly God’s message of truth … and open our hearts to accept without reservation God’s message of truth.
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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