the REAL glory of Heaven

“What is something you look forward to?”

The question itself was simple enough. I only wanted to get to know her more, wanted to build a relationship with her so as to better relate to her and her life; but I didn’t expect our conversation to yield anything other than a greater understanding of who she was. Yet it did, because her answer, to this one simple question, haunted my thoughts more than I could have believed possible.

“Oh man, I look forward to going to heaven. Can you just imagine, if it’s everything the Bible says it is, how awesome would that be? Streets paved with gold? A house built for me. No more sadness, no more fear. That must be amazing.”

Now, It’s a valid answer. I’m sure she’s not the only person to ever say that going to Heaven was something to look forward to, but, at the same time, I have to wonder if Heaven was all she’s excited for. Granted, golden paved streets and mansions built by God are what exciting in their own right, but what about God? All of those things would not exist without God and really, in heaven, shouldn’t spending eternity with God, the Father, be the ultimate reward as a Christian?

I suppose it could argued that I’m being too critical of her answer, and I’d be lying if I said I went on to push her further to try and make her understand. But, none the less, I left that conversation with a questioning of my spiritual life, not just the spiritual life of others. What was my reason in being a Christian?

The Bible says:
“They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” Revelation 7:16

It sounds amazing, the benefits of heaven, but the Bible also says:
“ For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Revelation 7:17-18

So you see, all of the blessings of Heaven are nothing without God, in all honesty, I know the Bible describes heaven as an indescribable paradise but would it be anything compared to the Glory of God? In my opinion, I think He would be much more distracting than a mansion with my name on it and I probably wouldn't notice if the streets were made of cheese if I was walking with Jesus because, honestly. all I would notice is Jesus.

When you think about it, the God who offered us mercy and salvation will be there for us to fellowship with. Despite all of our transgressions and all of our sins He gave us a way out and, moreover, He gave it to us because he loves us. We don’t deserve it. We don’t deserve heaven, we don’t deserve streets of gold and no pain and no tears. We deserve to die, and we certainly do not deserve Him. But He saved us.

And it's when I think of that, the fact that I'll be able to spend time with my Savior, my God, that makes me think I could care less about the material things of heaven, God is the REAL glory and reward.

Now, don't get me wrong, I will admit that the rest is a really great "bonus", but...I have to ask would I still want to go and still be excited if they weren't part of the package?

Would I still want to go and be excited if they were and God wasn't?

hmm...

Well...what about you?

till next time
Stay Faithful