Heaven

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” (Psalm 73:25 NIV)

That verse puts my chocolate cravings into perspective. 

I pray these words of Scripture as I walk around a small local lake. As I begin my walk, I am reminded of the people in heaven whom I am very much looking forward to seeing. And there are a great many things which I desire on earth – success, significance, harmony within my community and, of course, a little bit of chocolate from time to time.

In the same way that I am often short-sighted in how I view ‘reality’, the writer of this psalm was also limited in perspective. The psalmist had been seduced into envying those who seemed to have everything, but in writing this prayer, he was able to refocus.

Through praying this beautiful prayer with the ancient Jews for whom it was first penned and chanted by generations since, our perspectives can also be realigned with reality. We glimpse a bigger picture. God is in heaven. That is what matters. And that fact impacts us, his people here on earth.

(And yes, I know that God is omnipresent. Yet the Bible also portrays him as being in heaven, seated on the throne. The Trinity is a bit of a mind-bender.)

 

Heaven – the place where God reigns

Heaven is referred to throughout Scripture as the place where God rules. This is reflected, for example, in the prayer Jesus taught us which includes the line, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

From time to time, glimpses of heaven have been given to mere mortals. Examples include the heavenly courtroom scenes of Job’s day, Jacob’s dream of the heavens opened and a ladder connecting heaven and earth, the 72 elders who glimpsed heaven in Moses’ day, the visions of Daniel and Ezekiel, the heavens opening and a voice speaking at Jesus’ baptism, and of course the visions given in the revelation to the apostle John. 

And there is even more!

 

Hope of heaven

Heaven is a resting place for the spirits of God’s people who have died, and so much more. God’s people are promised that when we are ‘absent from the body’,  we will be ‘present with the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 5:8). Knowing that we go to be with our Lord gives us tremendous comfort. But there is more besides.

The Bible portrays God enthroned in heaven, but promises that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead and to usher in his new creation. Heaven and earth will be united, just as a bride and a groom are made one. God will rule in his new creation.

It is a mystery to me as to how it all works, but when Jesus rose from the dead in a physical flesh-and-blood body, he guaranteed that we, his people, will one day be given resurrection bodies too. I wonder what we will look like? How will we act? Will we all be super-smart? We will all be healthy and whole.

We will be given meaningful roles to play in that day too. We will be set up for success, assured of significance and we will live in harmony with all creation. Will there be chocolate in the new creation? If so, it will definitely be ethically sourced. 

 

Tricky questions

I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of questions about heaven that the Bible does NOT answer. Whatever happened to Enoch and Elijah who didn’t die but were taken to be with God? What does Scripture mean when it says that many of the ancients were ‘gathered to their fathers’? How could Samuel’s spirit be summoned from the grave by the witch of Endor? How literal was the story that Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man? What did Jesus mean when he spoke of ‘Abraham’s bosom’? What was Paul was talking about when he spoke of a man going to the ‘third heaven’?  

My questions reflect a limited perspective. Imagine asking the small child of a molecular biologist what her parent does for a job.  Perhaps that is a bit like asking me about heaven.

 

 

In the meantime, as best I can, I will keep focused on the big picture. Heaven is where God reigns. Heaven is a sure hope for God’s people. My hope of heaven impacts how I live in the here-and-now. Although I often lose focus, as a follower of God, I can pray together with the Psalmist and so realign my perspective along with God’s people through the ages: 

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.” (Psalm 73:25 NIV)