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WHY SHOULD WE KNOW
ABOUT HEAVEN NOW?
As Believers, we
believe we will be going to heaven, but we really don’t know much
about it. We hear various things about it and have some ideas, but
we are not very sure about what to expect there. Some people are
actually afraid of what comes next.
We let our fears of
the unknown keep us from exploring this very important part of our
lives. Somehow, the end of our lives is blocked out, as if it does
not exist. We ignore it and its inevitable arrival.
But it is coming
and we need to learn about it!
Our purpose for
learning about heaven is not to speed our departure from earth but
to be able to use all of the time we are here to prepare for it
adequately. When we know about heaven, it will change our lives.
Our outlook will change.
When we set goals,
we begin with the end in mind. We need to find out where we are
going so that we can align our goals with that destination in mind.
We need to begin with the end in mind.
It is like
preparing for a trip. When you plan a trip, or a vacation, you
decide where you are going; you make the travel arrangements, and
prepare to take everything you need with you. If you are driving,
you follow a map to get you to your destination.
When you have a
plan, all of your goals and objectives will be defined by it. You
will begin to measure everything according to the outcome that you
want. What we need to do and why we need to do it will become
clearer.
If you get off
course on your driving trip, you will check the map, see where you
are, see where you need to be, and then make the necessary
adjustments.
That is how it is
when you find out about God’s grand plan and what your part is in
it. You can make the plans, check to see if you are on course, and
make the necessary adjustments while on your trip to your eternal
home. Help you make the right choices. Once we figure out the
eternal plan the part here on earth becomes clearer.
When we learn about
heaven, it helps us to Understand the Bigger Picture
When we learn about
heaven, we come to understand the big picture, and we see the things
that we should be focusing on. The eternal goals we need to set for
our lives would become clearer.
We realize how
short of a time we actually spend on this earth
James tells us our
lives are like a mist. He says, “What is your life? You are a mist
that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14
If you imagine
squirting air freshener, you would see how quickly that squirt
disappears. Compared to all eternity, that is how short our time is
on this earth.
If it is that
short, why are we even here? It seems like almost a waste of time.
When we study life
in heaven, we find that we are not even living the life that God
originally had in mind for us yet.
God has eternity in
mind. God has paradise in mind. God has a life of love in mind.
God has more in mind for His children than this life on earth.
God is the ultimate
goal setter. He began with an end in mind. This is what we need to
do too.
God’s original plan
was for people to live a life of paradise forever in close contact
with Him. But He gave man, Who He created in His image, Adam and
Eve, free will. They could worship whom they wanted to. His desire
was for them to love Him above all else.
But we all know
what they did! Adam and Eve decided to rebel against God. In doing
this, they were spiritually cut off from God. And, their rebellion
caused all of humankind to be born spiritually separated from God.
However, God had a
plan for man to be able to come back to Him, to reconnect with Him,
through His Son Jesus—freely—and to ultimately spend eternity with
Him.
Today, our main
purpose is to re-establish our connection with God through Jesus
Christ and then prepare for our eternal home—which would have been
our original lifestyle if Adam and Eve hadn’t caused such a detour!
When we see this
time on earth as the temporary period that it is, everything takes
on a new perspective.
We see that we are
aliens and strangers on this earth and that our home is heaven. We
see that we are already citizens of heaven.
We discover that we
are in a race
Some would say a
rat race, but the Bible calls it a race for the prize. We are
encouraged to finish the race so that we will not be disqualified
for the prize.
1 Corinthians
9:24 – Do you not
know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize.
1 Corinthians
9:27 – No, I beat
my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to
others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Phil
3:14 – I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has
called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
2 Tim 4:7 – I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith.
What is this
prize? Some say that it is actually ruling and reigning with
Jesus. We do not want to finish the race only to discover we were
running the wrong race!
We discover that
how we measure success here on earth is not how God measures
success. It’s an upside down system compared with our earthly
system.
Matthew 19:30 - But many who are first will be last, and many
who are last will be first.
Matthew
20:16 – So the last
will be first, and the first will be last.
Mark
9:35 – Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone
wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of
all.”
We don’t want to go
through our whole lives working at being the ‘best’ and then having
to start out at the ‘least’ in the eternal, forever phase, right?
We Purposely Prepare
After we find out
all that is at stake, we will begin to purposely prepare. You will
find there is more you can do to prepare yourself.
In addition, you
will discover that your life right now will be better because of the
preparations you make for your future.
While we are here,
God gives us opportunities to grow and prepare for our eternal life
with Him. All that we do has an effect on our citizenship, our
future, and our eternity.
When you realize
this, what the Bible says becomes more serious. It becomes your
source for the guidelines on how to conform to heaven. You see that
it is not only the instruction book for your life now, but also for
your eternal life, which has already begun.
We Will Not Afraid of What Comes Next
When we study
heaven, we will find that there is a lot to look forward to!
You will be able to
see the ultimate end to this portion of your journey, and won’t be
frightened about what comes next.
You will actually
be very excited! You will welcome it and realize that this time in
your life is very important.
Someone once said,
“The hardest part of eternity is the first 80 years!” But what we
do with these years affects the rest of eternity. They are very
important years.
That future life is
worth every sacrifice, every discipline, and every prayer we make
now to prepare for our eternal home. We need to take the
opportunity that God has given us and make the most of it.
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You can get the
complete life-changing teaching on heaven, filled with Scripture,
beautiful photos and illustrations, in the new “Exploring Life in
Heaven with Rose Martin” DVD. Great for all who want to know more about heaven! It’s an
effective witnessing tool, a comfort to those whose loved ones have
gone to heaven and a reassuring preparation tool for those of us who
are going. It will inspire and motivate you! Click
here to learn more.
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