Heaven is Real – Part 1
In the past week and a half, Beth and I have attended two funerals. The first was for an elderly gentleman close to Beth's family. Although sad, it was also a celebration because of his incredible life. Julian was part of the Allied Invasion on the beaches German-occupied France during the Normandy landings of 1944. He knew the Lord. The second funeral was for a relative on my side of the family. Donna was only 40 years old and lost a long battle with cancer. Because of her young age, this was an especially difficult funeral, yet, Donna had a deep love for Jesus and was very active in her excellent church. I had the honor of making a memorial video from family photo albums to be played at the funeral as I often do for our family. Making these videos evokes a ton of emotion as you can imagine. Besides grieving from the loss, staring at numerous images makes death very real because it is so final from the earthly perspective. Spiritually speaking, this is where the rubber meets the road. Is all of this talk about Jesus dying for our sins and going to prepare a place for us actually the truth or is it something we temporarily tell ourselves in a moment of grief to get us through a time of deep darkness? For some, I'm sure it is temporary. For others, it's the anchor of our lives.
Is all of this talk about Jesus dying for our sins and going to prepare a place for us actually the truth or is it something we temporarily tell ourselves in a moment of grief to get us through a time of deep darkness?
Our culture doesn't like to deal with death and that's a normal human reaction, yet, when it happens, we can't hide. We're pushed into a corner and are forced to deal with it. Having conducted, spoken at, and helped with numerous funerals, I can tell you with absolute certainty that Jesus is indeed in Heaven at this very moment preparing a place for those who put their trust in Him while on this earth. While we are alive, it would do us some good if we would get used to the idea of death and begin to once again talk about the Doctrine of Heaven. The reason I use the word doctrine is because it implies that I get my teaching about life issues from the only source of Truth and that is from God's Word, the Bible. In other words, while we're alive, we need to learn God's mind on the matter of earthly death, and the only place we find that is in the Scriptures. While this is not an exhaustive study on the subject, I'd like to get us started.
In one of our recent ministry Email updates, I quoted the following:
Psalm 116:15 (NIV) Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
I was pleasantly surprised to get two very positive responses from friends. One was from a pastor in Australia and the other from a missionary in Haiti. Each has recently experienced a death and although I'm sure both know this scripture, they found comfort when reminded of God's take on the matter. You should take comfort too.
Why would God call death precious? From the earthly perspective, this makes no sense especially when you're grieving unless…unless you have a relationship with the Truth. The truth is, Heaven is real and God paid a steep price so that we can go there. He longs for us to be where He is. When someone arrives in Heaven because of the price He paid, He calls that precious! God yearns more deeply than we can ever hope to understand for us to accept the awful sacrifice that His Son made and when someone does, it is very precious to Him. You see, death actually means life; eternal life. The very moment a believer in Jesus dies, he or she is instantly ushered into the presence of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:8 (NASB) we are of good courage, I say, and prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
When Jesus was on the cross and about to die, He looked at one of the believing thieves beside Him and said,
Luke 23:43 (NASB) “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
The truth is, Julian and Donna are in Paradise. That's the truth. No lie. Heaven is just as real as the room you're sitting in. Meditate on that. It's the truth. Do you know why I keep saying that it's the truth? Because truth is the only thing that will make us free (John 8:32). I encourage you not to be held in bondage to worldly grief.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NIV) Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
Of course we grieve. We need to. We just don't grieve like those people who do not have the hope of Heaven. Let the truth free you to believe that Heaven is real. Do you want to hear more truth? The truth is, Julian and Donna are free of age and disease. Really. That's the honest truth. At this very moment, right now, Julian and Donna are alive and pain free. No joke. This is not something that will happen in the future. It's already happened. Here's what God has to say about us when we preciously arrive in Heaven:
Revelation 21:4 (NASB) and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Some day, and I believe very soon, Christians will receive a recreated body. In some miraculous fashion, God will take all of the decay of our earthly bodies, no matter how far scattered the dead cells and molecules are, recreate them and put them back on us and we will never experience the ravages of aging and disease again!
1 Corinthians 15:44 (NASB) It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
Contrary to a popular belief, we do not turn into angels when we enter Paradise. No bell rings and no wings are handed out. When children die, they do not transform into little fat Valentine angels with bows and arrows. We are all real people with real identities and when we Christians get to heaven we will be recognized just like Jesus, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob who once lived on this earth will be recognized. We will know our friends and relatives as we knew them here on earth.
I have a cherished connection with the folks in Page County, Virginia. Page County Middle School recently lost one of their precious students. My good friend Doug Gochenour spoke at the memorial service and funeral and led many to the Lord. The students are asking questions. The Theory of Evolution provides no comfort in times like this. Theories are worthless. Truth is the only thing that will bring hope and comfort. It's time to have a revival of the Scriptures in our churches, youth groups, and schools. I will continue this article on the topic of Heaven in Part 2. Stay tuned.
I enjoyed reading that Heaven is Real. I believe that it is. I sometimes hear the devil in my ear telling me to "get real"…How could there be a heaven? I am just wishful thinking… But I am really pushing that doubting voice down and hearing my God tell me that I can believe and not feel the least bit foolish. I know that we are all tested while we are here on earth and that when my own trials are over, I will be greeted by my Donna…my dear sweet sister. Thanks to Brad and Beth for being great brother and sister in-laws. And for helping put together the memorial video. I love you both dearly! And I am looking forward to the coninuation of Heaven is real.
What excitement grows within as we grasp faintly the magnitude of Joy in His presence. In His presence is Fulness of Joy, joy overflowing, super-saturated radiating Joy beyond our comprehension, almost tangible in its strength. And the Love. Radiating encompassing enveloping liberating Love. And how simply Awesome the Hugs are going to be in Heaven, what a wonderful reunion. Oh how I pray that those that are grieving grasp the nearness of the Kingdom of Heaven, how alive their loved ones are. What an indescribable merger, Heaven and Earth!
How much this needs to be the focus of the Christian life, especially in light of so many churchgoers seek their "best life now"..