"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 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.'"
Revelation 21:3-4
The more I read in the Bible about heaven, the more clear it becomes that we aren’t there yet.
The desire for heaven is built into our hearts. We are constantly trying to make life on this earth good and peaceful and free of hardship, disease and conflict. That’s a good thing. We should want these things.
But sometimes, as we enjoy the peace and relative safety in the good life that we have managed to create here by God’s blessing, we start to think we’ve actually created heaven on earth and then we’re shocked and disappointed when the reality of life knocks us down.
We aren’t in heaven yet. “This world is not my home.” We have the sure certainty of God’s promise of comfort and peace in a home free from sorrow, sickness, war and death that keeps us focused. What we get now are glorious glimpses of what’s to come, but they’re just glimpses. We see now as through a glass, dimly; there we will see Him face to face.
Lord Jesus, thank you for the promise of heaven. Keep my eyes on the goal! Amen.
Pastor Dan Giles