How often do you think about heaven? More specifically, how often do you think about the reality of heaven? It's a question that's been on my mind this week, especially after I read Isaiah 65:17. God said through the prophet Isaiah, "Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth, and no one will even think about the old ones anymore."
Personally, I get so caught up in the things of this world, specifically in two ways. First, the troubles and trials of this life bring frustration that can consume my thoughts and attention, and anyone who is reading this blog can relate. Jesus said "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus didn't say "if" we have many trials and sorrows, he said that they "will" come. One of my favorite authors, Andy Andrews, once said correctly that all of us are either in a crisis, coming out of a crisis, or heading toward a crisis. So, it shouldn't surprise us when troubles come, but we can take heart as a Christian because He who is in us is greater than this world, and anything in it. But, how does this relate to heaven? How do our current problems size up in comparison with what we will experience in the new earth that God will establish? 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, "For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!" Or, to put it like the prophet Isaiah did above, we won't even think about the problems we had on this earth once we experience the new heavens and new earth that God has in store for His children.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the "good things" that this world offers can also consume my thoughts and attention, to the point where I think things like, "This is as good as it gets! How can anything be better than this?" What a foolish way to think! First of all, our lives here on earth "are like a breath of air; like a passing shadow" (Psalm 144:4) in comparison to the length and scope of eternity. Take some time and try to wrap your mind around the thought of living forever, around how long eternity lasts. We talk about eternity at church, but how much serious thought do we give to the notion of truly living forever? I can't comprehend it, I can't fully wrap my finite mind around that truth, but I think that's how God wants it. It makes me realize how short this life on earth truly is. I have quoted 1 John 2:16-17 before, but it bears repeating. "For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything people crave" (emphasis mine). Or, to put it like the prophet Isaiah above, we won't even think about the things we loved that the world offered us once we experience the new heavens and new earth that God has in store for His children.
God commands us to live out Colossians 3:1-3. "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God" (emphasis mine). Let us stop thinking that heaven is some distant world, and since we can't see it right now with our own eyes, why should we set our hearts and minds on it? Heaven is a reality (and so is Hell for the unbeliever, by the way), and the new heavens and new earth will be what we experience much, much, much, much, much longer than what we experience, good or bad, here on this earth.
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