Heaven Help Us

Continuing the topic from my devotion published today ... Many people I've asked admit they aren't really looking forward to heaven all that much.  Oh sure, they greatly prefer it to the alternative, and they love God, but they suspect heaven won't be all that fun.  At least not compared to here where we have great food, movies, things to accomplish, amusement parks, vacations in exotic locations and hobbies we enjoy. They're afraid heaven will be one long, boring choir concert.

Have you read The Chronicles of Narnia series? C.S. Lewis ends the last book in the series with a paragraph that excites me about heaven:

"... but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story, which no one on earth has ever read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."

— C.S. Lewis in The Last Battle

I believe heaven will far surpass our best notions of it. I believe that because that's the kind of God I know and serve. And because He is ultimately responsible for all the good things we enjoy in life here. My mother-in-law, a nature lover, once told me she wasn't looking forward to heaven.  I asked why. She replied, "I understand there are streets of gold, and I prefer the greens of moss and grass." I assured her that since God made the greens of grass, she could trust that she'll like whatever heaven contains. She is there now.

I also believe that how I live on earth determines to a degree what my life in heaven will be like - the theology of rewards. I believe that because that's what I see the Bible teaching, and it reflects God's character of justice. (Salvation to heaven, which is not based on my actions but simply my faith in Jesus, reflects God's character of grace). I've been writing about that some in my upcoming book It's No Secret.
 
So, what do you believe heaven will be like?   Where did you get those notions?

If your notions came from particular verses in scripture, I'd love for you to post them in the comments for us to read and learn from. Let's find out together this week, as best we can on this side of the Great Shadow, what heaven is really like.

Thankful for the hope and promise of heaven.

How far is heaven?

One of us recently got the question:

"Are all the Proverbs 31 ladies just blissfully happy all the time?"

I suspect each of us has been asked this question before, in some form. I have.

Just in case you too are under this delusion, or maybe you just haven't read on my blog this year about ... the recent death in my family ... the pressures of my deadlines ... my admissions to dealing with pride, vanity and lust ... the fact that I routinely fly across the country to speak in front of a group of strangers, hopefully without forgetting to pack deodorant and without throwing up from nerves ... that I hate doing laundry ... about my propensity to burn myself in the kitchen... or my unfortunate accident with a bath scrubbie ... you can pop over to Marybeth's blog and read her apt reply.

I wonder if this person is asking are-your-circumstances-always-blissful?, or if she is asking are-you-always-able-to-be-blissful-despite-your-circumstances? Big difference. Absolutely no one's circumstances on earth is alway blissful, and Christians are not guaranteed that either (see John 16:33).

Here are 4 definitions of the word "bliss":

1. supreme happiness; utter joy or contentment
2. Theology. the joy of heaven.
3. heaven; paradise: the road to eternal bliss.
4. a cause of great joy or happiness.

As Jesus said, we can rule out number 4 happening all the time here on earth. That makes expecting a constant state of number 1 in this fallen world, on this side of eternity, unrealistic. The other two are both linked to something beyond this earth. We're linked to that too. Though we're not fully there yet, we can find our bliss in that link.

What I strive to do is to lean into God and trust Him enough to receive His peace, comfort and direction no matter my current circumstances. Sure, I experience anger, frustration, fear, regret and tears just like the next gal - I just try to submit all those feelings and triggers to God. To allow Him to use them as He sees fit ... to change my circumstances, or to change me through them. And I remind myself that my time here is temporary - this is not my true home.

In that, I'm usually able to discover some bliss in the middle of my blunders. In that, I find pieces of definitions 2 and 3. And that is enough for me, for now. So, no bliss-filled perfection here ... just a girl trying her best, with varying degrees of success, to follow Jesus home.

PS. Here's a song I have on my I-pod for those times bliss seems far away: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaHwzkk6tOQ