Take Me Home Country Roads...
Understanding what Heaven is really about
By Pastor Adam Fox
As a society, it seems we enjoy talking, looking, reading, singing and watching about Heaven - even though not all of us as a society believe in it. If you think about it, Hollywood in all its forms of media loves using Heaven in its books, songs, television shows and movies. Don't believe me? How about these examples for ya.
Heaven is For Real (Book and movie)
Stairway to Heaven (song)
The Good Place (TV)
Take me Home (Song)
Field of Dreams (Movie)
Supernatural (Television)
Miracle from Heaven (Book and Movie)
Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (Movie)
Just a few great examples. We love the comforting nature that an afterlife brings us as a society. West Virginia and its Mountain Mama claim to be Heaven. Led Zeppelin claim there is a stairway to Heaven and heck, even Iowa is jumping in with the claim that there state IS Heaven.
But is any of this true? Why are we as a society so eager to learn all about Heaven? For answers, we do not have any one person we can ask as in having first hand experienced it, since you must be dead to get to Heaven. So we must depend on what the Bible tells us. And friendo, there is a lot of information about Heaven in the Word of God that will quickly separate fact from fiction. Here is a brief glimpse of what the Bible tells us about Heaven.
Heavenly Bodies: There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 1 Corinthians 15:40
New Earth: Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2
Peace: The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
The lion shall eat straw like the ox,
And dust shall be the serpent’s food.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,”
Says the Lord. Isaiah 65:25No more sadness or death: 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 21:4
Co-heirs with Jesus: He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son. Revelation 21:7
A place to worship God: But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. Revelation 21:22-23
These are just a few of the promises about Heaven that are in the Scriptures. Even with these promises that are all over the Bible, we still want to add our own narrative to Heaven. That is where we get the idea of Heaven being a giant cloud or Heaven being this create-your-own-destination type place. While I would love to have an afterlife where I can lay next to the cheeseburger tree and Diet Coke Waterfall, that is not it, nor is that the point of Heaven. The point of Heaven is to worship God at every moment and never grow tired or bored of doing so. (Revelation 4:8-11)
One of the problems with our fascination with Heaven and the afterlife is the eagerness. The Bible tells us that Heaven is a wonderful place. It is wonderful not for the streets of Gold or for the Saints of old or even the mansion built for me. It is wonderful because of one thing and one thing alone and that is because of God the Father is there.
God the Father and the Lord Jesus are in Heaven and as John 14 tells us He is preparing a place for each one of us.
Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3
We can be eager about getting to Heaven, maybe even excited. There is nothing wrong with that, I get excited for many things including getting to eat pie for breakfast. (#adulting) But I think we have this desire as believers to get to Heaven for a few reasons. The first being the desire to be in the presence of our God and Savior. There will be nothing more scintillating or enjoyable than to be in the presence of the one who made us, of the God who set forth the planets and the stars, who made time and the seasons as well as each one of us. It is something to look forward about but not something to gloss or miss the now over.
Another reason to be eager about Heaven could be being tired of this sinful world. I get it. We are living in a sinful society that promotes sin and hates and opposes the truth that comes from the Bible. This is the world we have to live in and the Bible tells us to not love the World but to live here and love God. "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever." 1 John 2:15-17
Living in our society, where the morals and biblical values are trodden upon. Values like sanctity of life, importance of marriage between a man and a women, sex inside marriage only, honesty and so forth. Being around all of these twisted values makes you feel like you want to go home, to be with God in Heaven.
But let me remind you of something. God has called us to live here, to be the salt and light to this world. If God had designed us to be taken to Glory as soon as we come to a relationship with Him it would be awesome but problematic. The problem is if we are taken home ASAP, how would others know if they are not told? That is why we are here, to tell others about God and to grow in our own relationship with Him. May not always be easy living in this sinful society, but God has a plan for us.
One final reason to be eager to go to Heaven would be those already called home. To be surrounded and welcomed into Glory by those of old. I can relate to this greatly. That one day when I die, I am pretty sure it wont be for another 150 years - give or take. But I want to be welcomed by those saints that have gone before me, to party with Jesus forever with them.
It is natural to miss our loved ones. Even though it will we will see them again if they knew Jesus as their personal savior and because of that, we know they are free, happy, and without pain - we can still miss them. I know I do. I have days when I miss being with and eating with my Papaw and Grandma Fox. Then there is my Uncle Dennis. Uncle Denny went to be with the Lord suddenly in 2015. Uncle Dennis was a lover of life, his family as well as making others smile. He would have a diet mountain dew in one hand and always try to make me smile, if it is hassling me about the Bears or giving anyone who needed help his help. He is missed.
Another person I want to highlight of those saints passed is Kyle Lowry. Kyle went to be with the Lord 3 years ago this past month. I had the privilege to attend Olivet Nazarene University with Kyle. Kyle was one of those people who had the God given gift to make you smile and feel like a hundred dollars. He was a Pastoral major with me and became my graduating classes Student Body President. I spent many a day with Kyle talking hockey, making each other laugh and the struggles of a college graduate and Pastor. Kyle was the best of us unfortunately though depression and other problems led to him taking His life. He is missed.
There are many reasons to be eager and excited for Heaven most importantly because it is where God is. To be with our God is something where words cannot express how special that will be. We just need to learn how to be content with waiting on God's time. I know that each one of us has our own circle of people that we are looking forward to seeing. 2018 was a challenging year for us as a local church, but I know that all of those saints who passed on who knew Jesus as their savior are in Glory with their God and loving every minute.
Heaven will be a fantastic, indescribable and wonderful place of perfection filled with our Lord. It is something that is filled with believers long gone where we all worship God. It sounds perfect because it is. That is why we need to keep showing the love of God towards everyone, keep sharing and teaching about God. There is always room for more.
I am sure that there is no stopping Hollywood or the music industry from stopping there use of Heaven. So that means we cannot fall into the fiction narrative that they create for what they want Heaven to be. Instead we rely on the truth found in the Bible and wait till it is our time to be called Home to see it ourselves. Until that glorious day when we will Fly Away, we grow in our faith and share our faith to all we can as God directed us to do.
18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:18-20
Cheers and Excelsior!
Pastor Adam