Heaven

I promised I’d write this, and events of the last week or so have conspired to inspire me, so here we go. Sorry in advance for it being so long – there’s just so much to say!
Personally, I cannot wait for Heaven. There are some nights when I just lie in bed and imagine – and yes, as I write that, the song starts playing in my mind “I can only imagine…” (Though, not to go off on a tangent or anything, but you really ought to check out this vid, by Tim Hawkins. Very LOL).

But I love to just think – just picture in my mind what it’s going to be like – and the best part is, that no matter how great I am at imagining it, it’s going to a zillion and twelve times better in real life. Which – do remember, it’s going to be real life. I think a lot of people picture heaven as this kinda misty, floaty place where we all sit around in white robes on clouds and pick at harps all day. No way! Here’s how I picture things:

First off – let me clarify. When I talk about Heaven, what I really mean is the “new Earth” that God is going to create from the ruins of the old one, like it talks about in Revelation 21. Randy Alcorn has a great book out called, simply Heaven, and I strongly suggest picking it up to read. Take everything with a grain of salt – and a heavy dose of checking against the Word – but you couldn’t ask for a better, more biblical picture of Heaven then what Singer gives.

But here’s how I picture it:

The colors will be more vivid than anything you’ve ever seen on the old Earth. The greens will be like liquid emerald, and the reds deeper than a priceless ruby. The sky will be of such a rich and bright blue, unclouded by pollution, and full of the light that shines from the Throne.
Everyone there will be Christian – just think about it! Forget the stuff about “all roads leading to God” and all that nonsense…but that’s a debate for another time. For right now, it’s simply amazing to think that one day, there will be no more crime, because there will be no more criminals! No more sin! No more wrong at all.

Now, that doesn’t mean we won’t disagree on things in Heaven. I know we’ll all agree on the basics – Christ and Him crucified, ect – but I’ll bet that the theologians will spend eternity puzzling out the fine points in friendly debate. Can’t you just picture John Calvin and Martin Luther and others, sitting around a pizza while they expound on the greatness of God? (And yes, there will be pizza in Heaven. Why not? I’m sure there are Christians who know the recipe!)
And I don’t think we’ll ever stop learning, either. Some people have this idea that we’ll get to Heaven, and suddenly know everything; but I don’t agree. Honestly, can you think how dull it would be to no longer have any questions? To have no more to learn, to explore, or to discover? Bleh! I think that in Heaven, there will be vast centers of art and science and learning – grand libraries filled with millions of books – hey, we’ll have eternity to write, right?

I can just picture it – huge, open-air cities with wide, tree-lined avenues; and the buildings all of white stone and gold trim. The streets – of course – will be paved with gold (“pure gold, as transparent as glass” – and science has discovered that chemically pure gold really is transparent, just check out an astronaut’s helmet visor. They’re coated with a layer of pure gold.) I kinda picture it like the paintings done byJames Gurney for his book Dinotopia – only, maybe with a few less lizards about! LOL

There will be dinosaurs there, though, I think. And every other creature God created and called good. Lions and tigers and…you know the drill. From dinosaurs to cats, elephants to do-dos. And maybe even some we don’t have here on the old Earth – who knows what our vastly creative Creator might invent to delight us in our new home? He loves to amaze His children – I wouldn’t even be surprised if there was a dragon or two, or a unicorn, or some other creature out of ancient myth.

I don’t believe in people turning into angels when they get to heaven – that’s completely unbiblical and ridiculous. But wouldn’t it be cool to become friends with an angel? I’d love to ask them all about their perspective on events that played out before their eyes here on the old Earth. Maybe get Gabriel’s point of view on his message to Mary; or the unnamed angels who visited the shepherds in the field. Can you imagine their joy at proclaiming the Messiah’s birth?
And speaking of talking to folks, I can’t wait to sit down with some of the heroes of the faith – people like Abraham and Joseph and Ruth and Esther; Paul and John and Luke; David Livingstone, Gladys Alyward, and Amy Carmichael – and ask them to tell me their stories.
Just this last week, my parents took the whole family “home” to the big city, where the church they grew up in was having a big reunion. We got together with my parents’ old youth group, and sat around for a few hours reliving their days as teenagers. “Remember when we TP-ed the youth minister’s house?” “Remember what we did at camp that year?” “Do you remember? Do you remember?” It made me think of the scene in C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian, where the four Pevensie children return to their old treasure chamber at Caer Parivel; and start reminiscing about their old days in Narnia.

And it also make me think about Heaven – the greatest reunion ever! Maybe something more along the lines of the final scenes in Lewis’ The Last Battle, where all the old heroes of the past are reunited, and old friends find each other again.

And every day, we’ll walk by the side of our Lord, and pay homage in the Great Throne Room, crying with the angels “Holy, holy, holy! Is the Lord God Almighty!!” Can you imagine a greater song of praise?

It gives me a weird feeling in my stomach – like every surprise, and every heartbreak, and every gorgeous wonder all wrapped up in one. Of all the happy endings ever told, the ones that made you want to laugh and cry and sigh with wonder all at once – this will be the best ending ever.

And guess what? This one will never end!

See you there!

~Trav