The joys of heaven (1)

The story is told of a pastor who asked his congregation, ‘How many of you want to go to heaven?’ Everyone raised their hand except one little boy. The pastor said, ‘Son, don’t you want to go to heaven?’ He replied, ‘Yes, but I thought you were getting up a batch to go right now!’ Let’s be honest, we don’t think or talk much about heaven until a loved one dies and goes there, or we grow old and feel like we have fulfilled our assignment here on earth. Then we feel a tug pulling us heavenward. And we should. On average, we will spend about 70-80 years here, whereas we will spend eternity there. ‘We shall always be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV). Here on earth, we get a mixed scorecard; sometimes, we do well, and other times not so well. But in heaven, we will be just like Jesus. ‘For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Saviour … who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body,’ (Philippians 3:20-21 NASB). C.S. Lewis wrote that in heaven, each of us will be a ‘dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine.’ All the patriarchs, prophets, and preachers in the Bible longed for heaven. Zechariah describes it in these words: ‘For they shall be like the jewels of a crown, Lifted like a banner over His land. For how great is its goodness And how great its beauty!’ (Zechariah 9:16-17 NKJV). If you were to die today, would you go to heaven? You can, by putting your trust in Jesus Christ.