Jump Start # 445 

Revelation 22:4 “They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads.”

  There are many layers of comfort for the Christian. Knowing that you have a loving God who remains on the throne is comfort. Knowing that God knows what you are going through is comfort. Having an amazing church family that supports and loves you is comfort. The Scriptures comfort—especially through the promises of God. Hope comforts. Most of us though are comforted the most by thoughts of Heaven. “How beautiful Heaven must be.”

  When I write about Heaven, I always use a capital “H”. My spell check doesn’t like that—too bad! Heaven is a real place—it’s a proper noun. More than that, it’s our home! It’s where we want to be.

 Our world has two sides to it. One side is beautiful. Weddings, babies, mountains, rolling hills, sunsets, water falls—these are all amazing and wonderful. God’s beauty is seen through this wonderful world. Great friends, an incredible family, good food, clean laughter, dogs that wag their tails, cats that purr, beautiful music, sweet smells make up some of our greatest memories. This world can be great.

  There is another side to our world that we don’t like to talk about, and that’s the evil and wicked side. The news tells of murders and rapes. Pollution, cheating, foul mouths, sorry attitudes, stinkin’ thinkin, big business that rips people off, politicians that are out of touch and clueless to what is going on, closed bridges, surgeries, crime, mean dogs, food poisoning, dishonest deals, wicked talk and wicked thinking—these all taint and keep our world from being perfect. It will never be perfect. I think some try to make it, but they will fail. We have sin in the land and in our hearts. There will always be bad news, death and funerals to attend. That’s our world.

  Heaven is different. It has only one side to it—and it is beautiful. It is amazing. God has designed it with the best. It is His home and we are invited there—not just to walk through as tourists, but to make it our home. Heaven is about God.

  So many things that race through our minds and hearts will not matter once we are in Heaven. Finding every dime to pay the bills, staying up nights with a sick child—all gone once where in Heaven. Heaven is that perfect world. It’s perfect because God’s there.

  Heaven motivates us to keep on. The road gets long sometimes. We get discouraged at times. But thinking of Heaven keeps us going. Just a little bit more. Just around the corner. You’re almost there.

  Heaven challenges us to be righteous. Heaven is not our world, it’s God’s. Heaven won’t be filled with fishing, shopping, or golfing—those things are a part of our world. Heaven is a spiritual realm that reflects God. Praise, worship, godly things will fill Heaven. Some ask, “won’t we get tired of that?” Are you kidding? Never. “What if I get bored?” You won’t. Trust God. Trust the Scriptures.

  The perfect place—the perfect world…it’s yours if you walk with the Lord. “Sing to me of Heaven…” is such a wonderful hymn. It helps us when we are faced with the dark side of this world.

Roger