I am going to put forth an image of Heaven for you. Please imagine this with me:
You arrive and are greeted by family and friends that have arrived before you. In the background, you hear music seemingly in surround sound that does not even begin to compare to your favorite earthly songs because it is so beyond them in beauty and emotion.
Together with your loved ones, you explore the city totally created with the brilliance of flawless, pure gold and breathtaking, costly stones... precious gems and diamonds, all shining forth rays of colors that are too magnificent to describe. No concrete sidewalks or black asphalt streets here. You meet a lot of people and hear really awesome stories about their past.
After exploring, you and your loved ones sit down at a table that is full of the most delicious foods you have ever laid eyes on. The smells of the dishes make your mouth water. You enjoy this great feast with your family and friends, laughing and talking about sweet memories, all the while relieved and elated to know that all the food you are consuming in is not going to add a single inch to your new body's waistline.
After this feast, your loved ones show you their mansions. They then take you to the front doorstep of yours, tell you to enjoy exploring your new eternal home, and they'll see you later for ____________(fill in your favorite hobby/pastime here... sports, movies, etc.). You are in shock at the beauty and intricate design of the home they are telling you is yours. You open the door to find the home of your dreams, except it is far beyond anything you could have ever even imagined existed while you were living on earth. The floor plan, the furniture, the wall colors and flooring, the decor... every single thing is so perfect that you cannot believe it is yours. You sit down in your home, and ponder about what you've experienced. You realize that you haven't seen a single person sick, sorrowful, in pain, or with a bad attitude all day.
If (and this is a HUGE "if", because I by no means claim to know that many of these details are actually accurate) I just accurately described what Heaven would be like for eternity, is this a place you want to go? Did I forget to mention anything else that you personally would need in Heaven to live happily ever after for the eternity?
Did I?
Now forget the image I just gave you. I want to put forth a completely different image of Heaven for you:
You and Jesus... Nothing and nobody else.
No family that you once had when you lived on this earth. No food. No mansions.
Is this a Heaven you could be satisfied to live in for eternity?
Is it?
The good news is that the Bible makes it clear we will not be alone with God in Heaven (there are debates as to whether we will know and recognize loved ones and I stand on the side of the debate that says we will know them), that there will be an amazing feast, and that Jesus is preparing a place for us (read John 14). I cannot even begin to describe how incredible this place is He is preparing, even if I saw it with my own eyes. It is so beyond our comprehension abilities as humans. Our knowledge of God, even when we have been in relationship with Him for many years, is still only a speck in the vast, unending realm of all there is to know about Him. So when Jesus says He is preparing a place for us, this place is going to be so wildly amazing that there truly are no words to describe any of it.
But... If we really, truly, wholeheartedly love God with all that's within us... shouldn't a Heaven with just Him in it be more than enough for us? Shouldn't we agree with the writer of Psalm 16:11 when he proclaims, "In Your presence there is fullness of joy"? Fullness of joy in Him alone. Not Him plus all the good things. Not all the good things plus Him.
The problem is, it seems like on this earthly side of eternity our sinful nature tries to focus our lives on the good things God gives us more than God Himself. And this is such a dangerous place to be, because when we focus more on the good things than we do on God, who is the very Giver of all good things, we are worshipping idols.
When God asked me what I thought of when I imagined Heaven, my heart, soul, and mind in one accord shouted, "JESUS!". Though God has not asked me what I thought when I imagined Heaven before, there was a time not long ago where I would have saw nothing wrong with the first scenario. Those things would have probably first came to mind as I thought of Heaven, and then as a footnote I may have added, "Oh, and it would also be nice to come face to face with You, Jesus." Like an extra bonus or a passing, almost forgettable, detail.
But through the years... through trials and pain and tears and triumphs and seeing Him glorified over and over and over again through it all... I somehow along the way fell so head over heels in love with Him that I am crazily, passionately, madly, insanely in love with God. My holy God who exists in 3 Persons: God the Father, who is Creator... God the Son, who is Jesus- Perfect, Sacrificial Love Personified... And God the Holy Spirit, our Counselor and Helper that Jesus sent us when He went to be with God in Heaven. I will be talking a lot about the Holy Spirit over the next blog post or two (or three or four, who knows) because He is doing mighty great things that I want to shout from the rooftops. And I look forward to sharing these things with you as He leads me to.
My prayer tonight is that when we look inward at the desires of our heart, we can proclaim with full confidence:
"My soul longs for You, my soul longs for You! Nothing else will do, nothing else will do." --(from the song "My Soul Longs for You" by Jesus Culture)
Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. -Galatians 6:8
*******Author's Note: This blog entry is not intended to be considered theologically sound information about Heaven nor to create views of Heaven that are not found in the Bible or provided by the Holy Spirit. I recommend checking out http://www.gotquestions.org/is-Heaven-real.html for some good, Biblical information about the reality of Heaven.*******