“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)
You know what? We don’t talk about Heaven enough. Preachers rarely preach a sermon just on Heaven, and I don’t remember when I last heard a Sunday School lesson devoted to it. In fact, about the only time you can count on hearing about Heaven is at a funeral, the reason for which is obvious. It’s to comfort those who loved the saint that he or she is in a better place.
If we believe that, then why don’t we long for Heaven? My granny looked forward to going. She once told me how she couldn’t wait to see her husband who had passed away 40 years earlier. And I know from several years of devotions at an assisted living center that most of the elderly to whom my wife and I ministered yearned for Heaven. Those saints couldn’t wait to open their eyes and see Jesus
There may be a few of us who felt that way when we’re younger, but the truth is while most of us won’t go out kicking and screaming, it’s not something that we’re looking forward to either. Why? For one reason, while we may be Heaven-bound, we’re still shackled by all the trappings that earth has to offer. We have unfinished business here, family whom we love dearly, not to mention tomorrow’s dreams that we’re only just beginning to see come true. It’s a painful thought to think that the day is coming when we have to leave all that behind.
Some of us are also afraid of death. We don’t see it quite the way the Apostle Paul did when he said, “Oh death where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55) We don’t view life in an eternal sense. So while Paul saw death as the “last enemy that will be destroyed,” we find it a little hard to look beyond the grave. (1 Corinthians 15:26)
That’s why we need to hear more sermons and Sunday School lessons on Heaven. The more we know about something, the less we fear it.
I learned that first hand in my own Sunday School class a few years ago. I don’t remember how the subject of Heaven came up, but I began to reminisce about the things I looked most forward to when I get to Heaven. Things like seeing Jesus, catching up with my mom and dad, and hugging my granny. I also shared with them how much I look forward to getting my perfect body. “I have no musical ability here on earth,” I told my classmates. “I can’t carry a note to the bank. But if I get there before you, look for the good-looking, skinny piano player playing Southern Gospel music for the best sounding quartet you’ve ever heard. You won’t believe your eyes because it’ll be me.”
As I looked around, I saw more smiles on their faces than I’ve seen in weeks. So much so that I stopped the lesson and asked them to look around. “That’s the Spirit coming out in you,” I told them. “He knows I’m telling the truth.”
All those things we worry about here will not make very much difference in Heaven. We’ll see things differently then because we’ll be able to allow the Spirit in us to soar. Songwriter Helen Lemmel put it this way:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.