A coworker was assisting with message preparation this morning, and came by my office while taking an informal poll: Why are you looking forward to Heaven? What about Heaven do you anticipate the most?

Wow - loaded question - where do I start?

An easy answer for a follower of Christ: to be in the presence of God and to experience Him in his fullness, without the limitations of my physical body and mind.

Another easy answer for me: to meet the people who helped shape who I am today, whether people from the Bible (the Apostle Paul, Esther, Ruth & Naomi, Joseph), or people from my life who’ve gone before me (family members, long-time family friends, teachers). And conversely, to meet the people whose lives I have impacted and shaped.

A couple of other things I’m really looking forward to:

I believe that God doesn’t cause bad things to happen on this earth, but when bad things happen, He does choose whether or not to intervene. So often, God chooses not to supernaturally intervene, and as a result, people (including children) are harmed, or they experience dreadful illnesses, or they suffer great losses. I believe that when God chooses not to intervene, it is because He can see the impact of that “bad thing” on eternity. And from His eternal perspective, that “bad thing” will have a greater influence on His Kingdom than His supernatural intervention to stop the “bad thing” would have. I certainly can’t see His Kingdom from His perspective, and I don’t pretend to fully understand how or why He makes the choices He makes. But…I am looking forward to Heaven because I believe He will make all of that known to me, and I will understand.

Also, I am looking forward to all that God has planned for me for eternity. I believe that the desires and passions of our hearts are placed within our souls by God. When our body withers away, our souls will go to live with Him - desires and passions intact. And while He definitely uses our desires and passions to build His Kingdom while we are here on earth, I believe that He has so much more planned for us to fully embrace and express those desires and passions in eternity. How exciting!

Why are you looking forward to Heaven?


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1 Corinthians 13:12