Not long ago I saw this mug of the poor guy, sitting on a cloud in heaven thinking… “Wish I’d brought a magazine.” I know… it is supposed to be funny, but I actually find it quite sad. I believe all too many people harbor the opinion that Heaven will be… well… rather boring. Perhaps they are convinced that Heaven really is all clouds, wings and harps. Maybe they envision Heaven as one looonnggg never-ending church service or small groups of people trudging streets of gold singing kumbaya.
You know, nothing could be further from the truth. Those ideas of Heaven don’t inspire me at all. I once sat through a 3 hour church service and I actually considered stabbing myself in the eye with a pen, so that I would have an excuse to leave. Don’t get me wrong… worshipping Jesus will be a central feature of Heaven, but the idea that a church service is all there will be to do in Heaven… or play the harp… or even rest… is just downright criminal.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT Now let me ask you a question… if that verse is true… does the picture on that mug make any sense at all?
Isaiah 25 tells us there will be no grief or pain in Heaven… Revelation 7 tells us Heaven will be rich with diversity…Revelation 8 says Heaven will contain horses… lions and lambs are also mentioned…1 John 3 tells us we will have bodies like Jesus’ glorified body… Psalm 16 declares that Heaven will be filled with joy… Ephesians 2 affirms we are created to do good works there…Luke 22 & Isaiah 25 state that we will feast together in Heaven… Acts 4 affirms we will have meaningful relationships with others… Luke 19 seems to indicate that we will serve God throughout the new world.
Heaven will consist of a capital city called New Jerusalem that has a footprint that would stretch from Iowa to Maine to Florida to Texas. New York City has a footprint of 302 square miles — New Jerusalem? 1,960,000 square miles! What the World! It will also consist of a newly created earth and universe without the taint of sin. HEAVEN WILL BE AMAZING! The grandeur of the Rocky Mountains will seem like a dung heap in comparison to the mountains of Heaven.
I see that little picture on this mug and I think The Enemy must be thinking, “Yeah… keep thinking those kind of thoughts about Heaven.” Because he knows better than us the magnificent creativity of God… and he wants people to adopt an attitude of complacency that might cause them to miss out on the wonderful plans that God has for us. Don’t you believe it! That dude… sitting all bored, isolated and without purpose… yeah… that is actually closer to Hell.
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