Thoughts on Heaven - again

There are times I become so disheartened by life in general that I simply want to leave.  Then I have to stop and think about the fact that if God hasn't taken me home, then He must have a very good reason for my staying here.  Just because I cannot see the reason doesn't mean it doesn't exist. 

I have written and taught many times about Heaven and my longings for it.  I have also told of how fun it is to imagine Heaven as it is described in Scripture, not as depicted on TV, radio, in storybooks, some songs or even in some sermons.  We have been fed many stories about Heaven that make it sound (if we are honest) boring.  Once I started studying what the Scriptures really had to say regarding this magnificent place, I began to long for my future home in ways I never had before.  As a matter of fact, I remember when I was engaged thinking thoughts like, "Can You please wait until we've been married a little while?" I wanted to experience life to what I considered the fullest. Little did I know.... In my heart of hearts, thinking back, I really thought my life with Michael would be much more fun and interesting than Heaven could possibly be.  "After all, aren't we just going to stand around all day and night singing praises?" 
The funny thing is, this probably isn't nearly as negative a thought for me as it is for the majority of the world of Christians, because I absolutely adore singing praises.  Other songs can be fun, but singing praises brings me to new heights of wonder like nothing else can, except studying God's Word and prayer.  Okay, singing praises can be a form of prayer and is for me, but that is beside the point.  Actually, the Bible says that there are some angelic beings that surround the throne and never cease singing God's praises day or night, but angels are not human beings.  (Angels were created before human beings and we do not become angels upon death, but that is for another time.)  These angels do this out of sheer joy and awe at the magnificence of God, but not all angels are involved, only those mentioned.
My husband, on the other hand, takes no real joy in singing.  He sings praises, but gets more from the actual music than the words.  He is a true instrumental musician at heart.  I play anything in the flute family, but that is my limitation.  He finds it fairly easy to pick up any instrument up and learn to play it, minus flute because his hands are so large.  His main instrument is trumpet.  I only say that because there are those who think that if we aren't singing, we will be playing instruments of praise.  Trumpets, flutes, tambourines, cymbals, and lyres (or harps) are all mentioned as instruments in Heaven.  Nice for us, but anyone who doesn't play an instrument says, BORING!   But don't worry, there is nothing in Scripture that says everyone willing be playing an instrument either. 

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^[a] for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

God is going to make the earth new and join His dwelling place with ours as a husband is joined to his wife.  This is why Christianity is compared so heavily with marriage.  Just as a husbands desires to be joined with his wife, God desires to be joined with us again as He was in the Garden at creation, but no more will we be tempted to sin!  Why?  He will constantly be in our presence, not only spiritually as He is now, but physically!!  We will truly understand all He did for us at Calvary and be so grateful that sin will be utterly repugnant to us.  There is nothing more exciting than this thought!! 

There is so much to glean from the comparison of Christianity to marriage.  The longing to be together, to share every detail of every day with each other, to see the humor and excitement in the others eyes as we tell them of our day, to actually be listened to intently, the joy of embrace or a simple touch of the hand, the amazement that you can be loved so deeply by someone, the learning and growing we do in the process and so much more - these are what Heaven is truly like!!  There is no boredom involved!!  We will constantly be getting to know God more thoroughly.  He is infinite.  We are finite.  Therefore there will be an infinite amount of things for us to learn about Him.  For all eternity we will be experiencing something new and exciting!!  Mountains to climb, caves to explore, things I've always dreamed of doing, but never had the means to do so!!  I can't wait!!  But I will.

If you want to know more, read Heaven, by Randy Alcorn or Heaven: Your Real Home, by Joni Earickson Tada and compare them to Scripture.  I am ever so grateful to have done so and you will be too.