A Prepared Place For A Prepared People

The hope of a home in heaven has always been central to the Christian message.  But to the child of God,  it is more than a hope  It is life's greatest certainty.   But, after all,  when all is said and done, it is as the apostle Paul said,  "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable."

When people think of  heaven, a number of questions naturally arise.   Is it a real place?   Or is it, as some assert, merely a figment of a fertile imagination.  Has man, in facing his obvious fragile existence and mortality,  merely conjured the concept up to fulfil his wistful longing for immortality?   Or could it be, as some insist, just pie in the sky by and by, used as a tool of manipulation by religionists in order to deceive the gullible masses?   Is such a  longing and seeking just another expression of  Lenin's discredited thesis that "religion is the opiate of the people"?   Is it, as some sceptics say,  that if God and heaven did not exist, man of necessity would invent them?   Even sincere seekers for truth may understandably ask:   "How can we ever know for sure there is a  heaven for believers and a  hell for Christ rejecters?"

If  it is all just pie in the sky,  please don't tell me!    I am as convinced of the reality of heaven as I am  of the reality of a Creator God! Paul said that those who seek Him by faith can come to Him and He will reward those who diligently seek Him.  I have sought and found God by faith in Jesus Christ and have become a child of the King;  a joint-heir with Christ of all the glories of heaven and eternity!  I can say with John, by faith, "Now I am a son of God.  I do not know  what I shall be, but I know when He shall appear, I shall be like Him for I shall see Him as He is!"

We who know Him by faith know that heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.  Enoch is an example of such a person.  He walked with God and was no more.  Someone has proposed a beautiful scenario.  Enoch and God walked together daily.   As the quantity and quality of their walk increased, God said at the end of one of their daily walks,   "It's closer to my house than yours, just come on home with me today!"   Our walk with Christ on earth is designed to mature us and prepare us for an eternity with Him in heaven. After all, those who love the world and the things of the world would probably be unhappy in heaven in any case.

But just where is heaven?   Astronomically some speak of a great empty place in the North.  The Bible speaks of a third heaven - beyond the bonds of earth and over and above any astronomical heavens.   Personally,  I like the response of a little girl, who, when asked by a sceptics where heaven was, simply said,  "It's where Jesus is."  When the sceptics pressed the point and asked,  "But where is Jesus?"  The little girl replied,  "Well, I don't know exactly, but where Jesus is - is heaven enough for me!"

Walking As He Walked

Have you ever noticed how people walk? It is said that the seasoned and salty sailor who has spent his life at sea, walks at a rollicking and rolling gait, reflecting the conditioning of rolling decks under his feet. In bygone days, those who had spent their life on a farm, following a team of beasts and ploughing furrows in the soft earth, walked with a pace peculiar to their particular vocation. A man who has spent his life under marching orders strides out with a martial air and at a military pace.

Some walk with a spring in their step, others swagger arrogantly along and some merely shuffle through the world. Some tiptoe haughtily down the corridors of life, others display all the poise and confidence of a well-adjusted personality.

Have you ever noticed how children often seem to imitate the walk of adults? Especially those they admire and who might be considered their potential role models? They are great little imitators, both physically and spiritually. Little girls can't wait to put on high heeled shoes and walk just like mom walks. Little boys sometimes adopt the exact same gait as their dad.

One Sunday morning I noticed a little fellow coming down the church aisle before the service with a considerable limp. I approached him and sympathetically inquired about his injury. His mom told me he was perfectly well, but his father had injured his leg during the week and was limping severely. The small lad was simply walking like the dad he so greatly admired!

I am sure you may have heard the old story about the ungodly father who was walking through the snow, as was his custom, on his way to the local pub. Upon hearing the noise of crunching snow behind him, he turned and saw his small son jumping along, matching his strides and placing his small feet in the father's footsteps. From that moment on he allowed Christ into his life and his walk took a different direction.

It might be good to ask ourselves where we are placing our feet each day. Are we treading the high or low road? Do our steps lead others in the way of God or along the way of the world? Are we walking the broad or narrow way? Are we going the way leading to destruction or to life everlasting? Are we walking the way that seems right unto man? Or the way that is well pleasing unto God? Do our footsteps shuffle down the sorry side roads of sin or do our foot prints point people to the place God has prepared for His peculiar people?

Are we treading the path our Saviour trod? Trudging down the byways, highways and hedges of life, compelling others to come to Him? Do our tracks lead to the wells of this world, or are we trekking to springs of living water; showing others the way to the water of life? Are our feet shod with the gospel of peace? Are we wearing out our gospel shoes telling others of His good news?