Wednesday, October 20, 2010

October 20, 2010

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God." Revelation 21:3
Sunday we are going to preview Heaven based on the snapshot John gives us from this great portion of Scripture. Even though he struggled to find adequate words to describe what he saw, what he tells us sure sounds good!
As grand and magnificent as Heaven is, what makes Heaven eternally satisfying is that God is there! And His Son, Jesus is there! And the people of God are there!
The home you grew up in wasn't so much about the dwelling you lived in or the material possessions you had, it was about who lived there. Your parents were there! Your siblings where there. Love was there - unconditional love. Security was there. Acceptance was there. Encouragement and validation were there. Guidance and discipline were there. All of your emotional, physical and relational needs were met there.
If you happened to enjoy those things in a nice building in a fashionable neighborhood, that is all the better. But it wasn't the house that was significant it was the home!
Likewise, before we being the tour of Heaven, I want to focus on the main thing that makes Heaven, well - heavenly. It is relationships! It is being loved by God and by God's people. It is meeting Moses and Noah and Abraham and David and Daniel and all the other great heroes of the faith! It is never having to say good-bye again to family and friends. It is having those relationships that have added so much joy and value to our earthly life taken to new dimensions! Pure joy! Pure love! Pure trust! Perfect knowledge!
Heaven is a real place! Heaven is an unbelievably magnificent place! We can't conceive of it with human minds but even when we behold it we will struggle to comprehend it!
But far more significant than the splendor of the place will be the people who will be there!
Are you onen of them?