Let’s start with a heartfelt prayer: Heavenly Father, I sometimes feel distracted by the worries and fears about the world around me and what the future holds. But I find comfort in knowing that You are sure and victorious. You have beautifully promised to prepare a special place for me in heaven, and I eagerly look forward to Your return to bring me home. Please fill my heart with peace and strengthen my faith in Your wonderful plan. Give me the courage and joy to share Your love with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Let’s consider now a passage we all should be looking forward to, Revelation 21:4-5— 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Shilo Taylor, in his devotional on Life in Christ, writes the following on heaven:

“The God who created heaven is the same God who created mountains for us to climb and ski, and oceans for us to surf and snorkel. He created us to love, to be skillful, to learn, to be curious, to enjoy relationships with each other and with him. He made us creative, adventurous, and unique.

Our God has prepared a heaven better than earth in every single way. Every hope and expectation will be surpassed. Imagine the best things on earth: favorite smells, tastes, sights, hobbies, and places. Those are merely shadows of what heaven will be. Your dream job, your closest relationships, your ideal home—all of it pales compared to what God has in store for us!

If your idea of heaven is floating on a cloud, playing a harp, and sitting around twiddling your thumbs for eternity, then get that idea out of your head. We will have a perfect relationship with God and one another. We won’t have anything to hide or be embarrassed about. We won’t be left out. We will do what we love as worship to God. Our lives and jobs will be meaningful. We won’t be less of what God created us to be here on earth; we will be more ourselves than we can ever be on earth.

And to that I simply add, Even so Come Lord Jesus, Come!

Looking upward,

Gene