Vignettes that give us possible
Glimpses of Heaven
It may be a little like this.
If it is, we don't want to miss a thing!
Glimpses of Heaven
It may be a little like this.
If it is, we don't want to miss a thing!
Glimpse # 1
I am in heaven and every day is a wonderful time of fellowship with other citizens from all walks of life, all nationalities and ethnic groups, across many centuries. We sit in circles around tables, stroll in beautiful meadows, sit by the clear river of life under the healing trees, at dining tables and listen to one another’s stories of faith. I particularly love to hear testimonies by those whose faith was tested and others came alongside to help keep their faith strong. Others in our conversation smile and nod, but I can tell that they don’t get as excited. I wish they did, but they just do not have the ability. My excitement is stronger because back before death I fought the sin of indifference to be able to restore the faith of others when life discouraged them.
Glimpse # 2
Four very happy citizens of heaven sit at a table in an outdoor café in heaven. One is from the Caucasus Mountains in the 8th century, and one grew up in 1898 Manhattan, New York City. The third is a pygmy from the Congo in Africa who accepted salvation via missionaries in the 19th century and later killed by cannibals. And the fourth was a Chinese duck farmer from the 20th century who had been jailed and tortured for being a house church leader. They are laughing about their strange appearance to one another, clothed so differently from their past cultures. They are enjoying a new kind of tea made from a plant just created by God last month.
Peace inhabits every nook and cranny in heaven. We know this, but we have also been educated about it during orientation meetings when each of us arrived in heaven.
I watch the four at the table in the corner of the patio. I listen to their stories of God’s peace in their lives before death. Continual praise rises from their words and makes its way to the One on the Throne and to the Lamb (Rev. 5:13). I perceive differences, some slight and some more, in their sense of God’s presence with them right now, here in heaven. And, to me, it seems these differences match how much of God’s peace they recognized and enjoyed back in their lives before death.
But, those who have been chosen for me to meet from different centuries, races, geographical areas, and cultures have just arrived at the table, and we need to get started with our stories of praise. You can’t imagine how exciting this is!
Glimpse # 3
Jesus just stopped by in Person and made my year more wonderful than I ever imagined. He thanked me for urging so many people to ask Him to go to the fantastic 1,000 acre botanical gardens He just created on the planet Uron in the Sagula galaxy. He thanked me for making additional praise available to the Father.
I really wasn’t aware I was doing anything so special. I was just being the person I came to heaven as. It wasn’t always that way. About 20 years before I was released from the sin-contaminated culture of Earth through death, I got in touch with how God wanted to make good things available to me instead of my working so hard to make them happen of only my own effort. I then began asking the Lord for benefits, acknowledging that they were beyond my egotistical reach. And, God answered because I asked for them in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One.
This was so great that I urged everyone I could to depend on God more and less on themselves. Over the next 20 years it became just second nature to suggest to those in my Christian Inner Circle to take things to God, ask for what they need in Jesus name, and not do it sparingly for only the urgent or necessary things.
I guess I came to heaven so used to doing the same that I was not even aware that I was pleasing God so much as to receive a special visit from Jesus.
Glimpse # 4
Salina is filled with joy continuously. When she came to heaven her body had just been left behind in a car crushed by a drunken driver. She entered through the pearly gates and was soon given her reward. It has been a place of service that really fits her. Salina is completely fulfilled because her obedience on the sin-contaminated earth to the command to carry one another’s burdens was exceptional. She learned upon entering heaven that too few took this command any more seriously than to help someone out only occasionally.
But it was her aptitude for helping that qualified Salina for this assignment to help those entering heaven spiritually delayed. She was able before death to not hold others’ poor decisions against them, leaving judgment to God. Instead, she concentrated on loving others and helping them face the terrible consequences of their bad choices.
And, since she was also frequently obedient to the Together to “teach one another”, she helps by teaching Heaven Appreciation classes at the University to those delayed in many spiritual qualities. Salina’s new friend Donald, another like her in carrying other people’s burdens but who excelled in the Together “disciple one another”, conducts the laboratory portion of the class, held off University grounds where the action is.
Glimpse # 5
Every day here in heaven is extremely thrilling. I appreciate being here so very much. I imagine everyone is grateful, but others don’t seem to be quite as excited. And some are more excited than me. I don’t quite understand it.
However, someone here with me was a distant acquaintance back before we died. His name is Jake. He is totally content but far less understanding of how privileged we are to be here. But, I do know this. Back when we were in the sin-contaminated culture, Jake was very unforgiving. I wonder if back then he ever realized how forgiven by God he was. Then would have been the time to realize it. Now there is no sin and misery to remind us from what we have been saved.
Glimpse # 6
Holly and Lisa died today in a shooting rampage by a mentally ill man who stormed their church. Fortunately, or so it would seem, they were the only ones who died. The other ten victims in the hospital are going to live.
Holly and Lisa barely knew one another, even though they both attended church regularly. Holly is a married mother of three and Lisa is a middle aged career woman, CEO of some kind of financial institution. Since their church has 200 people, there is not enough opportunity to get to know everyone very well. Still, Holly knew Lisa as one who might be walking the line between the kingdom of God and the secular materialistic culture. Lisa seemed to regularly come to church in more and more expensive clothes. And, instead of talking about the Lord during coffee time, she was always talking about some legitimate financial opportunity.
Now both women are being guided through the gates of heaven at the same time, as might be expected by their same time of death. Holly watches Lisa express surprise that heaven is truly real. She seems to only have half believed the Bible’s certainty that it wasn’t just a figure of speech. She fully trusted in Jesus and his death and resurrection, but not His teaching about heaven. Holly can hear the angel welcoming Lisa with excitement and then telling her that because she was victimized by the devil and fell in love with money, she will be going to the class titled “Basic Truths about God’s Provision in Heaven”.
At the same time, Holly’s angel guide is complimenting her for her great trust in God’s character and provision, her dedicated service to God back on earth battling evil, and her contented enjoyment of God where He assigned her as a middle class mother who cared deeply for her children. Then the angel mentions that tomorrow she will start Graduate School in the College of Advanced Appreciation of Heaven.
Glimpse # 7
In heaven Jesus appears in our fellowship. After his warm, loving greeting, He mentions how wonderful is the generosity of God. Those of us who entered heaven having hated greed, stinginess, and indifference to the needs of others experience an immediate connection with our Lord. Those who before being liberated by death only thought such things were wrong but did not develop hatred for them have different expressions on their faces. The difference seems like when people come to a meeting and those who have closer relationships get warmer greetings.
Glimpse # 8
Melinda truly enjoys heaven. There are so many songs and poems of praise about God’s holiness there. While some are about God’s general purity, many others praise specific aspects of God’s holiness. Melinda learns that the latter have to be written by those who learned of God’s specific purities by hating the contrasting evils in the sinful environment of life before death.
As just one example of thousands of specific aspects of God’s pure holiness, some hymns and praise choruses point out God’s pure loving care for people. These were written by those who before death hated so very clearly the evils of neglect and self-centeredness. These worship songs teach others in heaven something of God’s holiness that they missed first-hand before death but can still understand from history. Melinda in her life before death truly hated indifference to people. So she feels these praise songs rather than just understands them.
Glimpse # 9
Owen is invited often to the outskirts of the Great White Throne. So is Sharon. As husband and wife they almost always watched each other’s lives closely and helped one another resist the temptations of the sinful culture of their pre-death existence.
Milton and Olivia, Owen and Sharon’s Christian neighbors from before death, don’t often get invited so close to God’s actual presence. They ignored Owen and Sharon’s help to resist many temptations, dismissing their biblical counsel and criticizing their “overly Christian” lifestyle. They are totally happy in heaven. They just don’t comprehend what they’re missing. They did not work out their salvation to the necessary level of sanctification for greater privileges in heaven. Their new selves in Christ did not leave enough of their old self behind before death snuck up on them.
You see, it is not only on earth that the amount of love for God determines the level of closeness to Him.
Glimpse # 10
Back before death I occasionally heard God speaking to me. But now in heaven I hear Him even more clearly inside my thoughts. He speaks to me often because He has placed me in a leadership position to help others grow in their faith. Upon being assigned my reward as representing Him in teaching the greater faith of heaven, the Lord told me the reason for my assignment. It was my constant concern for those struggling to maintain their faith as well as my willingness to guard the faith of others when life got very difficult for them. Every day I hear His voice because I allowed the Holy Spirit to use me in restoring faith in others. My assignment means that God talks to me very often.
Glimpse # 11
In heaven you are taking a stroll through an orchard in bloom. Suddenly, Jesus is beside you. He hugs you and you are thrilled. Eventually, He speaks of dying on the cross in the midst of sin. You remember a time when you helped pay the consequences of another’s sin and had to skip a vacation to pay off the other person’s foolish debt. You tell the Savior of this time and mention that you can sort of relate to His dying on the cross. He smiles broadly and replies that He is glad you share that similar experience. Then He hugs you again.
You and He feel a special bond through empathy that is worth every sacrifice back before death wherein you helped to carry someone else’s burden.
I am in heaven and every day is a wonderful time of fellowship with other citizens from all walks of life, all nationalities and ethnic groups, across many centuries. We sit in circles around tables, stroll in beautiful meadows, sit by the clear river of life under the healing trees, at dining tables and listen to one another’s stories of faith. I particularly love to hear testimonies by those whose faith was tested and others came alongside to help keep their faith strong. Others in our conversation smile and nod, but I can tell that they don’t get as excited. I wish they did, but they just do not have the ability. My excitement is stronger because back before death I fought the sin of indifference to be able to restore the faith of others when life discouraged them.
Glimpse # 2
Four very happy citizens of heaven sit at a table in an outdoor café in heaven. One is from the Caucasus Mountains in the 8th century, and one grew up in 1898 Manhattan, New York City. The third is a pygmy from the Congo in Africa who accepted salvation via missionaries in the 19th century and later killed by cannibals. And the fourth was a Chinese duck farmer from the 20th century who had been jailed and tortured for being a house church leader. They are laughing about their strange appearance to one another, clothed so differently from their past cultures. They are enjoying a new kind of tea made from a plant just created by God last month.
Peace inhabits every nook and cranny in heaven. We know this, but we have also been educated about it during orientation meetings when each of us arrived in heaven.
I watch the four at the table in the corner of the patio. I listen to their stories of God’s peace in their lives before death. Continual praise rises from their words and makes its way to the One on the Throne and to the Lamb (Rev. 5:13). I perceive differences, some slight and some more, in their sense of God’s presence with them right now, here in heaven. And, to me, it seems these differences match how much of God’s peace they recognized and enjoyed back in their lives before death.
But, those who have been chosen for me to meet from different centuries, races, geographical areas, and cultures have just arrived at the table, and we need to get started with our stories of praise. You can’t imagine how exciting this is!
Glimpse # 3
Jesus just stopped by in Person and made my year more wonderful than I ever imagined. He thanked me for urging so many people to ask Him to go to the fantastic 1,000 acre botanical gardens He just created on the planet Uron in the Sagula galaxy. He thanked me for making additional praise available to the Father.
I really wasn’t aware I was doing anything so special. I was just being the person I came to heaven as. It wasn’t always that way. About 20 years before I was released from the sin-contaminated culture of Earth through death, I got in touch with how God wanted to make good things available to me instead of my working so hard to make them happen of only my own effort. I then began asking the Lord for benefits, acknowledging that they were beyond my egotistical reach. And, God answered because I asked for them in the name of Jesus, the Anointed One.
This was so great that I urged everyone I could to depend on God more and less on themselves. Over the next 20 years it became just second nature to suggest to those in my Christian Inner Circle to take things to God, ask for what they need in Jesus name, and not do it sparingly for only the urgent or necessary things.
I guess I came to heaven so used to doing the same that I was not even aware that I was pleasing God so much as to receive a special visit from Jesus.
Glimpse # 4
Salina is filled with joy continuously. When she came to heaven her body had just been left behind in a car crushed by a drunken driver. She entered through the pearly gates and was soon given her reward. It has been a place of service that really fits her. Salina is completely fulfilled because her obedience on the sin-contaminated earth to the command to carry one another’s burdens was exceptional. She learned upon entering heaven that too few took this command any more seriously than to help someone out only occasionally.
But it was her aptitude for helping that qualified Salina for this assignment to help those entering heaven spiritually delayed. She was able before death to not hold others’ poor decisions against them, leaving judgment to God. Instead, she concentrated on loving others and helping them face the terrible consequences of their bad choices.
And, since she was also frequently obedient to the Together to “teach one another”, she helps by teaching Heaven Appreciation classes at the University to those delayed in many spiritual qualities. Salina’s new friend Donald, another like her in carrying other people’s burdens but who excelled in the Together “disciple one another”, conducts the laboratory portion of the class, held off University grounds where the action is.
Glimpse # 5
Every day here in heaven is extremely thrilling. I appreciate being here so very much. I imagine everyone is grateful, but others don’t seem to be quite as excited. And some are more excited than me. I don’t quite understand it.
However, someone here with me was a distant acquaintance back before we died. His name is Jake. He is totally content but far less understanding of how privileged we are to be here. But, I do know this. Back when we were in the sin-contaminated culture, Jake was very unforgiving. I wonder if back then he ever realized how forgiven by God he was. Then would have been the time to realize it. Now there is no sin and misery to remind us from what we have been saved.
Glimpse # 6
Holly and Lisa died today in a shooting rampage by a mentally ill man who stormed their church. Fortunately, or so it would seem, they were the only ones who died. The other ten victims in the hospital are going to live.
Holly and Lisa barely knew one another, even though they both attended church regularly. Holly is a married mother of three and Lisa is a middle aged career woman, CEO of some kind of financial institution. Since their church has 200 people, there is not enough opportunity to get to know everyone very well. Still, Holly knew Lisa as one who might be walking the line between the kingdom of God and the secular materialistic culture. Lisa seemed to regularly come to church in more and more expensive clothes. And, instead of talking about the Lord during coffee time, she was always talking about some legitimate financial opportunity.
Now both women are being guided through the gates of heaven at the same time, as might be expected by their same time of death. Holly watches Lisa express surprise that heaven is truly real. She seems to only have half believed the Bible’s certainty that it wasn’t just a figure of speech. She fully trusted in Jesus and his death and resurrection, but not His teaching about heaven. Holly can hear the angel welcoming Lisa with excitement and then telling her that because she was victimized by the devil and fell in love with money, she will be going to the class titled “Basic Truths about God’s Provision in Heaven”.
At the same time, Holly’s angel guide is complimenting her for her great trust in God’s character and provision, her dedicated service to God back on earth battling evil, and her contented enjoyment of God where He assigned her as a middle class mother who cared deeply for her children. Then the angel mentions that tomorrow she will start Graduate School in the College of Advanced Appreciation of Heaven.
Glimpse # 7
In heaven Jesus appears in our fellowship. After his warm, loving greeting, He mentions how wonderful is the generosity of God. Those of us who entered heaven having hated greed, stinginess, and indifference to the needs of others experience an immediate connection with our Lord. Those who before being liberated by death only thought such things were wrong but did not develop hatred for them have different expressions on their faces. The difference seems like when people come to a meeting and those who have closer relationships get warmer greetings.
Glimpse # 8
Melinda truly enjoys heaven. There are so many songs and poems of praise about God’s holiness there. While some are about God’s general purity, many others praise specific aspects of God’s holiness. Melinda learns that the latter have to be written by those who learned of God’s specific purities by hating the contrasting evils in the sinful environment of life before death.
As just one example of thousands of specific aspects of God’s pure holiness, some hymns and praise choruses point out God’s pure loving care for people. These were written by those who before death hated so very clearly the evils of neglect and self-centeredness. These worship songs teach others in heaven something of God’s holiness that they missed first-hand before death but can still understand from history. Melinda in her life before death truly hated indifference to people. So she feels these praise songs rather than just understands them.
Glimpse # 9
Owen is invited often to the outskirts of the Great White Throne. So is Sharon. As husband and wife they almost always watched each other’s lives closely and helped one another resist the temptations of the sinful culture of their pre-death existence.
Milton and Olivia, Owen and Sharon’s Christian neighbors from before death, don’t often get invited so close to God’s actual presence. They ignored Owen and Sharon’s help to resist many temptations, dismissing their biblical counsel and criticizing their “overly Christian” lifestyle. They are totally happy in heaven. They just don’t comprehend what they’re missing. They did not work out their salvation to the necessary level of sanctification for greater privileges in heaven. Their new selves in Christ did not leave enough of their old self behind before death snuck up on them.
You see, it is not only on earth that the amount of love for God determines the level of closeness to Him.
Glimpse # 10
Back before death I occasionally heard God speaking to me. But now in heaven I hear Him even more clearly inside my thoughts. He speaks to me often because He has placed me in a leadership position to help others grow in their faith. Upon being assigned my reward as representing Him in teaching the greater faith of heaven, the Lord told me the reason for my assignment. It was my constant concern for those struggling to maintain their faith as well as my willingness to guard the faith of others when life got very difficult for them. Every day I hear His voice because I allowed the Holy Spirit to use me in restoring faith in others. My assignment means that God talks to me very often.
Glimpse # 11
In heaven you are taking a stroll through an orchard in bloom. Suddenly, Jesus is beside you. He hugs you and you are thrilled. Eventually, He speaks of dying on the cross in the midst of sin. You remember a time when you helped pay the consequences of another’s sin and had to skip a vacation to pay off the other person’s foolish debt. You tell the Savior of this time and mention that you can sort of relate to His dying on the cross. He smiles broadly and replies that He is glad you share that similar experience. Then He hugs you again.
You and He feel a special bond through empathy that is worth every sacrifice back before death wherein you helped to carry someone else’s burden.
The vignettes stop here.
But, if you really curious and want to grasp this concept more clearly,
read on for a whole lot more on the topic of preparing for heaven.
Preparing for Heaven Needs to Be Now
But, if you really curious and want to grasp this concept more clearly,
read on for a whole lot more on the topic of preparing for heaven.
Preparing for Heaven Needs to Be Now
No matter how much time is remaining before we each die, we will be very wise to use it carefully to prepare for heaven. It must be of highest priority because this life is short. It seems our experience in heaven will be directly affected by how we live this life in sin-contaminated culture.
While enjoying a free ticket to heaven purchased by Christ, there is much preparation for arriving there. Sadly, in a month’s time, most of us would prepare more to go on vacation to Hawaii than we would prepare to go to heaven. This is dangerously short-sighted.
There are things to be gained and things to be lost depending upon how we grow spiritually this side of heaven.
While enjoying a free ticket to heaven purchased by Christ, there is much preparation for arriving there. Sadly, in a month’s time, most of us would prepare more to go on vacation to Hawaii than we would prepare to go to heaven. This is dangerously short-sighted.
There are things to be gained and things to be lost depending upon how we grow spiritually this side of heaven.
. . . train yourself to be godly.
For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Tim 4:7b,8
For physical training is of some value,
but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
1 Tim 4:7b,8
We prepare for heaven by becoming more and more like Jesus Christ. Being godly means being like God. The Bible is full of admonitions to become godly in thought and deed. So, we must avoid becoming minimally like Jesus and counting that as sufficient.
Perhaps we are each like a tennis player. One who develops skills in fierce competition will be better than the one who always plays easy opponents. So, if we do grow within this sinful environment, say, in staying in tune with God here on earth before death, then we will have clearer harmony with the Father in heaven because we have grown against the difficult competition of sin.
Does it really make sense that a Christian can say, “Oh, I don’t need to grow in prayer now. When I get to heaven I will be able to pray with the best of them.”? Realize that is like saying, “Oh, God is not so important to me now. I have accepted Christ. I will make God important when I get to heaven. Nothing will be lost.”
If a person does not know how to read music, do we really believe that one moment after death in heaven that person will have mastered the reading of music? Or does it make more sense that the person finally has the joyful opportunity to learn how to read music and play an instrument?
In heaven we will not be held back by our sinful nature and we will not have to struggle against a sinful environment. But that does not mean that we will completely be like Jesus Christ in character by just passing through the pearly gates. We will not be equally able to take advantage of and enjoy every aspect of heaven right from the moment we die.
Perhaps we would like to enter heaven and have all of its privileges, benefits and rewards without putting in any effort. But, there are many places in the Bible that would tell us this is dangerous wishful thinking. We were not taken straight to heaven at the moment of salvation so that we can get ourselves ready for heaven.
Perhaps we are each like a tennis player. One who develops skills in fierce competition will be better than the one who always plays easy opponents. So, if we do grow within this sinful environment, say, in staying in tune with God here on earth before death, then we will have clearer harmony with the Father in heaven because we have grown against the difficult competition of sin.
Does it really make sense that a Christian can say, “Oh, I don’t need to grow in prayer now. When I get to heaven I will be able to pray with the best of them.”? Realize that is like saying, “Oh, God is not so important to me now. I have accepted Christ. I will make God important when I get to heaven. Nothing will be lost.”
If a person does not know how to read music, do we really believe that one moment after death in heaven that person will have mastered the reading of music? Or does it make more sense that the person finally has the joyful opportunity to learn how to read music and play an instrument?
In heaven we will not be held back by our sinful nature and we will not have to struggle against a sinful environment. But that does not mean that we will completely be like Jesus Christ in character by just passing through the pearly gates. We will not be equally able to take advantage of and enjoy every aspect of heaven right from the moment we die.
Perhaps we would like to enter heaven and have all of its privileges, benefits and rewards without putting in any effort. But, there are many places in the Bible that would tell us this is dangerous wishful thinking. We were not taken straight to heaven at the moment of salvation so that we can get ourselves ready for heaven.
. . . continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phil 2:12,13
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, . . .
1 Peter 2:2
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:36
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels,
and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 16:27
you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does,
whether he is slave or free.
Ephesians 6:8
for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phil 2:12,13
Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk,
so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, . . .
1 Peter 2:2
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God,
you will receive what he has promised.
Hebrews 10:36
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels,
and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
Matthew 16:27
you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does,
whether he is slave or free.
Ephesians 6:8
All of these verses indicate that how we live here where sin contaminates will affect how we will live for eternity in heaven.
Numerous verses of Scripture urge us to have our minds on heaven as our destination and to be engaged with the world rather than apart from it so that we can be transformed by service and suffering into Christ’s image.
We Really Should Want to Get Ready for the Joys of Heaven
Take for example the exciting conversations we will have in heaven. An explosion of conversations and stories will bring endless praise to God from the moment beyond death to forever without end.
Consider these assumptions about relationships and conversations in heaven.
First, people will be in heaven from all over the world and from all centuries and will still exhibit aspects of the cultures in which they lived (dress, speech patterns, etc.).
Second, we will see all things clearly.
Numerous verses of Scripture urge us to have our minds on heaven as our destination and to be engaged with the world rather than apart from it so that we can be transformed by service and suffering into Christ’s image.
We Really Should Want to Get Ready for the Joys of Heaven
Take for example the exciting conversations we will have in heaven. An explosion of conversations and stories will bring endless praise to God from the moment beyond death to forever without end.
Consider these assumptions about relationships and conversations in heaven.
First, people will be in heaven from all over the world and from all centuries and will still exhibit aspects of the cultures in which they lived (dress, speech patterns, etc.).
Second, we will see all things clearly.
For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;
then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Cor 13:12
then we shall see face to face.
Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
1 Cor 13:12
This will allow us to see God clearly and understand His full personality.
It will also allow us to remember everything good that happened to us when we were on the first earth. We will be surprised how some things we thought were bad were actually good from God’s viewpoint.
We will probably be able to see for the first time spiritual activity and truth hidden during our sin-contaminated life. It is likely we will see what our spirit saw that did not register in our physical mind. We will see how God worked invisibly to take care of us and guide us to service opportunities and other blessings. This will be an additional dimension available to us in heaven - the ability to see the spiritual world, somewhat like a camera double exposure when we remember our past sin-contaminated life. This “double exposure effect” in heaven will likely allow us to perceive for the first time the angels involved in past events back when we lived surrounded by sin. (Just as we will be able to see first-hand the angels in heaven.)
Without sinfulness and self-focus in heaven, we will have a deeper empathy that will allow us to understand other people much better – their thoughts, feelings, motives and other things that were clouded during sin-contaminated life.
Let’s see where those assumptions go when we think of the many wonderful conversations we will have in heaven – enough to last a long, long time.
It will take a great deal of eternity to hear the many stories of trillions of people from all times and all places. Imagine if your conversations in eternity were limited to just 10,000 people from all cultures across millennia and geography, and each of them have 50 great stories a year for 45 years during sin-contaminated life. That would be 22.5 million conversations of their stories and 22.5 million of yours for a total of 45,000,000 conversations. And, every time a story was told it would highlight God’s part, which was unseen before but clearly seen in life after death.
Remembering the good things and the victories, but seeing beyond the mirror to the spiritual dimension and recognizing what God orchestrated in each event will lead to telling over and over again God’s wonderful part. All of us telling such finally complete stories will make praise of God happen continually all over heaven at the same time.
Imagine how interesting and thrilling this will be. The stories! The grace and mercies of God that took place in endless situations! So many cultures! Such variety! Wow!
Maybe there will be new games in heaven, perhaps a “People Scavenger Hunt”. The purpose would be to find someone who ate a qualibump (rare dessert eaten in the Roman Empire in the early 200s – I made this up) on their fifth birthday.
Being in the presence of God and relating to Him is the most wonderful thing about heaven. Add to that the millions of conversations, the feast the Bible talks about, the exploring of the new heavens and new earth, and many more things beyond our dreams.
Bound for Heaven and the Need to Start Getting Ready
You want to be ready to take in as much of heaven as you can.
Our obedience on earth to Scripture and God’s commands is very important. We cannot ignore God now and expect to enter heaven “caught up”. The Togethers are drawn from hundreds of Scriptures and can be a blueprint for getting ready for heaven. Thus, they should be high priority in preparing for heaven and our eternal life.
The Together, Accept One Another, can be a good example for this discussion.
Not having developed the ability to find the non-sinful aspects of other people’s cultures and personal idiosyncracies interesting, fascinating, and enjoyable, will a person sit in the story-telling circles in heaven for all eternity and see, comprehend and enjoy much less? I remember sitting in my college physics class not understanding much of what the professor was saying. My mind was blank, kind of like a “deer in a headlights”. Perhaps that is what it will be like for Christians who do not learn to accept other types of people. A person who turned his or her back on the Lord’s command to “accept one another” will be spiritually underdeveloped and miss out on a lot.
Your Quality of Life in Heaven Depends on What You Do Now!
There are many ways in which our quality of life in heaven can be enhanced by obedience or held back by indifference.
Quality of life in heaven is a matter of degree, not absence. The degree that we will be able to interact with heaven will be determined by our obedience here in our life before death. The Bible tells us how to live and all of those commands and suggestions prepare us for heaven – if we take advantage of living the way God wants us to live.
1. There will be losses in spiritual maturity. In heaven we can grow and gain lost ground, but not catch up with others ahead of us in specific spiritual areas.
2. There will be losses that are permanent because gain had to happen in a sinful environment.
Losses with the Opportunity to Gain Lost Ground, but Not to Catch Up
Hopefully, this will become clear with a few examples.
My wife Jean can taste single ingredients of the minutest measure in things she eats. I can’t. It doesn’t bother me that she has this ability I do not have. In this regard, her quality of life is more sensitive to taste, and I am content because I can’t miss what I have never had.
Likewise, in heaven we will not be unhappy when others have greater degrees of some physical or spiritual skill. Since there is no pain in heaven, nor sin, we probably won’t be aware of the disparity in quality of life.
Here are two more examples of a slower start in heaven, thus a lesser degree in quality of eternal life.
I loved to play basketball. But I went to work 30 hours a week when I was 14 and was never on a team. I played great street ball and was a terrific shot, winning most of my games. But I never learned one organized play. I did not practice drills. In heaven I will be extremely happy playing basketball. But, I will not start out at the level of an NBA player. And I won’t want to. Maybe in time I will be playing HBA (Heaven Basketball Association) level, but by that time those believers who played NBA when they entered heaven will have progressed ahead of me, most likely to the same degree they were ahead of me at the beginning.
In other words, if I enter heaven with basketball skills at a level of 2 and a Christian NBA player enters at the level of 10, eventually I will achieve a 10. But he will be at 18. I hope you understand the point. Keep in mind that I will be happy all the way, but my quality of life will be stunted even if I do not realize it.
Not an athlete? Okay, I flunked second grade violin and have never been able to read music. Frankly, I am excited to finally learn when I get to heaven. But it is unlikely I will ever catch up to those who enter heaven able to read music and play an instrument.
Ignoring the Togethers will lead to losses in quality of life in heaven similar to these examples. Perhaps you don’t want to be behind everyone else for all of eternity.
More important, remember that it is not all about you and your quality of life in the hereafter. It is what Jesus asked for right now, before we die, as love for Him. Grow in obedience to the Togethers for your Savior. But, in the back of your mind, be aware that you are storing up treasures in heaven.
Danger: There are Losses without Opportunity to Advance
Underachieving on some Togethers will lead to some joys in heaven being lost forever, especially in your personal relationship with God.
These will be losses in being able to connect and bond with God about what He has done in the sinful environment of earth. If you value closeness, understanding and connection with your friends, imagine not having closeness, understanding and connection for eternity with God in some important areas.
For example, in heaven I may be able to advance in my basketball skills, but not the skill of playing my best while being sworn at and called degrading names by an opposing player. I will be stuck at the level of my play while being demeaned where it climaxed in the sinful environment. There will be no opportunity to advance because there will be no sin in heaven and no non-believer driven by Satan’s power to harass me. Yet, God has put up with such abuse, and, if I get to talk with Him about it and have lovingly put up with something similar, I will be able to say, “I know a little what you went through.” (See Chapter 7)
Rewards and the Privilege of Serving God in Heaven
While we get into heaven free of charge because Jesus bought with his life our admittance, our experience in heaven will be different than that of others in the way of rewards. Rewards are given based on how we proved ourselves to God in our sinful culture.
It will also allow us to remember everything good that happened to us when we were on the first earth. We will be surprised how some things we thought were bad were actually good from God’s viewpoint.
We will probably be able to see for the first time spiritual activity and truth hidden during our sin-contaminated life. It is likely we will see what our spirit saw that did not register in our physical mind. We will see how God worked invisibly to take care of us and guide us to service opportunities and other blessings. This will be an additional dimension available to us in heaven - the ability to see the spiritual world, somewhat like a camera double exposure when we remember our past sin-contaminated life. This “double exposure effect” in heaven will likely allow us to perceive for the first time the angels involved in past events back when we lived surrounded by sin. (Just as we will be able to see first-hand the angels in heaven.)
Without sinfulness and self-focus in heaven, we will have a deeper empathy that will allow us to understand other people much better – their thoughts, feelings, motives and other things that were clouded during sin-contaminated life.
Let’s see where those assumptions go when we think of the many wonderful conversations we will have in heaven – enough to last a long, long time.
It will take a great deal of eternity to hear the many stories of trillions of people from all times and all places. Imagine if your conversations in eternity were limited to just 10,000 people from all cultures across millennia and geography, and each of them have 50 great stories a year for 45 years during sin-contaminated life. That would be 22.5 million conversations of their stories and 22.5 million of yours for a total of 45,000,000 conversations. And, every time a story was told it would highlight God’s part, which was unseen before but clearly seen in life after death.
Remembering the good things and the victories, but seeing beyond the mirror to the spiritual dimension and recognizing what God orchestrated in each event will lead to telling over and over again God’s wonderful part. All of us telling such finally complete stories will make praise of God happen continually all over heaven at the same time.
Imagine how interesting and thrilling this will be. The stories! The grace and mercies of God that took place in endless situations! So many cultures! Such variety! Wow!
Maybe there will be new games in heaven, perhaps a “People Scavenger Hunt”. The purpose would be to find someone who ate a qualibump (rare dessert eaten in the Roman Empire in the early 200s – I made this up) on their fifth birthday.
Being in the presence of God and relating to Him is the most wonderful thing about heaven. Add to that the millions of conversations, the feast the Bible talks about, the exploring of the new heavens and new earth, and many more things beyond our dreams.
Bound for Heaven and the Need to Start Getting Ready
You want to be ready to take in as much of heaven as you can.
Our obedience on earth to Scripture and God’s commands is very important. We cannot ignore God now and expect to enter heaven “caught up”. The Togethers are drawn from hundreds of Scriptures and can be a blueprint for getting ready for heaven. Thus, they should be high priority in preparing for heaven and our eternal life.
The Together, Accept One Another, can be a good example for this discussion.
Not having developed the ability to find the non-sinful aspects of other people’s cultures and personal idiosyncracies interesting, fascinating, and enjoyable, will a person sit in the story-telling circles in heaven for all eternity and see, comprehend and enjoy much less? I remember sitting in my college physics class not understanding much of what the professor was saying. My mind was blank, kind of like a “deer in a headlights”. Perhaps that is what it will be like for Christians who do not learn to accept other types of people. A person who turned his or her back on the Lord’s command to “accept one another” will be spiritually underdeveloped and miss out on a lot.
Your Quality of Life in Heaven Depends on What You Do Now!
There are many ways in which our quality of life in heaven can be enhanced by obedience or held back by indifference.
Quality of life in heaven is a matter of degree, not absence. The degree that we will be able to interact with heaven will be determined by our obedience here in our life before death. The Bible tells us how to live and all of those commands and suggestions prepare us for heaven – if we take advantage of living the way God wants us to live.
1. There will be losses in spiritual maturity. In heaven we can grow and gain lost ground, but not catch up with others ahead of us in specific spiritual areas.
2. There will be losses that are permanent because gain had to happen in a sinful environment.
Losses with the Opportunity to Gain Lost Ground, but Not to Catch Up
Hopefully, this will become clear with a few examples.
My wife Jean can taste single ingredients of the minutest measure in things she eats. I can’t. It doesn’t bother me that she has this ability I do not have. In this regard, her quality of life is more sensitive to taste, and I am content because I can’t miss what I have never had.
Likewise, in heaven we will not be unhappy when others have greater degrees of some physical or spiritual skill. Since there is no pain in heaven, nor sin, we probably won’t be aware of the disparity in quality of life.
Here are two more examples of a slower start in heaven, thus a lesser degree in quality of eternal life.
I loved to play basketball. But I went to work 30 hours a week when I was 14 and was never on a team. I played great street ball and was a terrific shot, winning most of my games. But I never learned one organized play. I did not practice drills. In heaven I will be extremely happy playing basketball. But, I will not start out at the level of an NBA player. And I won’t want to. Maybe in time I will be playing HBA (Heaven Basketball Association) level, but by that time those believers who played NBA when they entered heaven will have progressed ahead of me, most likely to the same degree they were ahead of me at the beginning.
In other words, if I enter heaven with basketball skills at a level of 2 and a Christian NBA player enters at the level of 10, eventually I will achieve a 10. But he will be at 18. I hope you understand the point. Keep in mind that I will be happy all the way, but my quality of life will be stunted even if I do not realize it.
Not an athlete? Okay, I flunked second grade violin and have never been able to read music. Frankly, I am excited to finally learn when I get to heaven. But it is unlikely I will ever catch up to those who enter heaven able to read music and play an instrument.
Ignoring the Togethers will lead to losses in quality of life in heaven similar to these examples. Perhaps you don’t want to be behind everyone else for all of eternity.
More important, remember that it is not all about you and your quality of life in the hereafter. It is what Jesus asked for right now, before we die, as love for Him. Grow in obedience to the Togethers for your Savior. But, in the back of your mind, be aware that you are storing up treasures in heaven.
Danger: There are Losses without Opportunity to Advance
Underachieving on some Togethers will lead to some joys in heaven being lost forever, especially in your personal relationship with God.
These will be losses in being able to connect and bond with God about what He has done in the sinful environment of earth. If you value closeness, understanding and connection with your friends, imagine not having closeness, understanding and connection for eternity with God in some important areas.
For example, in heaven I may be able to advance in my basketball skills, but not the skill of playing my best while being sworn at and called degrading names by an opposing player. I will be stuck at the level of my play while being demeaned where it climaxed in the sinful environment. There will be no opportunity to advance because there will be no sin in heaven and no non-believer driven by Satan’s power to harass me. Yet, God has put up with such abuse, and, if I get to talk with Him about it and have lovingly put up with something similar, I will be able to say, “I know a little what you went through.” (See Chapter 7)
Rewards and the Privilege of Serving God in Heaven
While we get into heaven free of charge because Jesus bought with his life our admittance, our experience in heaven will be different than that of others in the way of rewards. Rewards are given based on how we proved ourselves to God in our sinful culture.
Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me,
and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:12
and I will give to everyone according to what he has done.
Revelation 22:12
I believe with others that the rewards in heaven will be places and positions of serving God. If treasures are based on the good we have done, it makes sense to me that rewards will be commensurate opportunities to do different levels of good in heaven.
This is my allegory of rewards in heaven. Scripture only tells us that there are rewards and treasures in heaven that will be different for each of us based on our obedience while in “boot camp” in this sinful environment.
I once spoke with a man who was leaving his wife and children for another woman. I was his wife’s psychotherapist. Since I had also been the husband’s Sunday School teacher, I asked to meet with him. I explained that his decision had implications for his quality of life in heaven something like this: “The quality of your life for all of eternity will be negatively affected if you leave your wife and children. Sure, you believe in Christ and will go to heaven, but your reward in heaven will be much less. Imagine that the reward is a place of service to God and other inhabitants of heaven. Imagine also that heaven will be like our world, but without sin.”
“God won’t be able to place you in the position of a mayor of a small town because you do not love Him enough and you are proving that you cannot be responsible with the lives of others, even very special people like your children. God won’t be able to place you as an accountant or any position of responsibility because you do not love Him enough to do things his way.”
“So, you will probably be assigned the job of sweeping the hardware store floor. You will be spiritually disabled, happy in a dumbed-down way. For all of eternity you will miss out on many things. While the Mayors’ Conference at the Throne of God is held monthly, the Sweepers Conference will be once every two years. God will be Someone you grow in heaven to love much more than you did on earth, but won’t see frequently.
This man still chose to desert his family. But, had he relied on the Holy Spirit, he could have gone home and the Togethers could have guided him in making a wonderful family life.
Final Encouragement
Each of the Togethers leads the way to ever increasing abilities in heaven. Christians have the opportunity to seek the Christian faith like an Olympian with lots of practice and ever increasing ability.
Perhaps another allegory will help explain why now is such a critical time to get ready for heaven and that we should give our lives to that preparation.
Imagine heaven is like a parade in honor of the King. And you are a float in that parade. In the parade you want to reflect as much beauty as you can, so you want to spend a lot of time and effort in becoming more attractive. To do so, you need others to help you create your beautiful design, assemble your float-self, and continually make yourself more and more beautiful. Your need for others to help you prepare for the parade is akin to believers needing their Christian friends, family, and spouse to implement the Togethers to add beauty continually before heaven.
You will want as much time to prepare for the parade as possible, because you want to give the King the most honor possible. Nasty conditions can ruin your design. Too easy a life can make you complacent and satisfied with a mediocre design. But, you still know that you are going to be in front of the King to see His joyful or sad response to you. So you keep dedicated to the parade, never letting anything stop you from becoming all the float you can be in the time you have before the parade.
As you pass by the King for whom the parade has been ordained, He will know your labor of love because you worked so hard in spite of adverse conditions to make yourself a more and more beautiful float. In the same way, persistence to getting ready for heaven in today’s sinful environment can make us a more loving offering to God in heaven, and in ways that cannot be accomplished once we get there.
Heaven is, in effect, a parade. Let’s get ready to begin the parade as beautiful in Christlikeness as possible.
This is my allegory of rewards in heaven. Scripture only tells us that there are rewards and treasures in heaven that will be different for each of us based on our obedience while in “boot camp” in this sinful environment.
I once spoke with a man who was leaving his wife and children for another woman. I was his wife’s psychotherapist. Since I had also been the husband’s Sunday School teacher, I asked to meet with him. I explained that his decision had implications for his quality of life in heaven something like this: “The quality of your life for all of eternity will be negatively affected if you leave your wife and children. Sure, you believe in Christ and will go to heaven, but your reward in heaven will be much less. Imagine that the reward is a place of service to God and other inhabitants of heaven. Imagine also that heaven will be like our world, but without sin.”
“God won’t be able to place you in the position of a mayor of a small town because you do not love Him enough and you are proving that you cannot be responsible with the lives of others, even very special people like your children. God won’t be able to place you as an accountant or any position of responsibility because you do not love Him enough to do things his way.”
“So, you will probably be assigned the job of sweeping the hardware store floor. You will be spiritually disabled, happy in a dumbed-down way. For all of eternity you will miss out on many things. While the Mayors’ Conference at the Throne of God is held monthly, the Sweepers Conference will be once every two years. God will be Someone you grow in heaven to love much more than you did on earth, but won’t see frequently.
This man still chose to desert his family. But, had he relied on the Holy Spirit, he could have gone home and the Togethers could have guided him in making a wonderful family life.
Final Encouragement
Each of the Togethers leads the way to ever increasing abilities in heaven. Christians have the opportunity to seek the Christian faith like an Olympian with lots of practice and ever increasing ability.
Perhaps another allegory will help explain why now is such a critical time to get ready for heaven and that we should give our lives to that preparation.
Imagine heaven is like a parade in honor of the King. And you are a float in that parade. In the parade you want to reflect as much beauty as you can, so you want to spend a lot of time and effort in becoming more attractive. To do so, you need others to help you create your beautiful design, assemble your float-self, and continually make yourself more and more beautiful. Your need for others to help you prepare for the parade is akin to believers needing their Christian friends, family, and spouse to implement the Togethers to add beauty continually before heaven.
You will want as much time to prepare for the parade as possible, because you want to give the King the most honor possible. Nasty conditions can ruin your design. Too easy a life can make you complacent and satisfied with a mediocre design. But, you still know that you are going to be in front of the King to see His joyful or sad response to you. So you keep dedicated to the parade, never letting anything stop you from becoming all the float you can be in the time you have before the parade.
As you pass by the King for whom the parade has been ordained, He will know your labor of love because you worked so hard in spite of adverse conditions to make yourself a more and more beautiful float. In the same way, persistence to getting ready for heaven in today’s sinful environment can make us a more loving offering to God in heaven, and in ways that cannot be accomplished once we get there.
Heaven is, in effect, a parade. Let’s get ready to begin the parade as beautiful in Christlikeness as possible.
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