Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have lived in the first century and been one of those disciples who walked with Jesus? One of those who heard His stories as they fell from His lips and personally witnessed His marvelous miracles? One of those who walked with the resurrected Saviour on the road to Emmaus? One of those who stood and watched Him as He slowly ascended into the heavens in the presence of two angelic beings in white apparel? Or, what would it have been like to have been caught up into the third heaven, as Paul, into the very presence of the Lord?
Is it any wonder those who had been with Jesus, were said to have turned the world upside down? Surely Paul’s special insight into the sights and sounds of that other world, had a profound effect upon Him and radically changed His outlook upon this mundane world in which he lived.
Yes a glimpse of other places can sometimes change our outlook or up-look. Until I had the privilege of staying a few weeks with a pastor friend and preaching in a number of rural churches in the pristine and beautiful mountains of West Virginia, I could not truly appreciate the words of John Denver’s beautiful song, Almost heaven, West Virginia...”
Until my daughter and her family moved to North Carolina, the history, geography and contemporary nature of the state were of little special interest to me. But now I find the place has a special attraction and fascination for me. Perhaps it’s because I have loved ones there.
Until I was sure God was calling me to plant churches in the great land down under, I knew very little of the place; nor did I have any particular desire to make a twenty-four hour plane trip to see it and find out more about it. But now, since I have so many loved ones in Australia, both in the physical and spiritual sense, the Lord has given me a deep love and affinity for the country.
Although there are many beautiful spots on God’s green earth, none could compare to the marvellous wonder and beauty of heaven. Even so, the main attraction of heaven for the Christian is not the place but the people. The main Person Who draws us heavenward is Jesus. In heaven we shall see Him face to face. Just as our roots sometimes tug at us, drawing us back to the places and people of our origins, so does our heart draw us heavenward and homeward.
The presence there of loved ones who have gone before add to this upward pull. It is said that the homing instinct of certain Arctic birds placed in zoos always compel them to look northward or homeward. We, who are temporary colonisers of planet earth, have a strange, other-worldly attraction as well. We are focused on another place. Our affections are set there. Our mind-set is in tune with our Master who resides there. We are looking for that city whose builder and maker is God. Through Christ, we as Paul, have been given a peep into that eternal city that is our eternal destiny, and it draws us ever onward and upward.
But is heaven a real place or, as some say, just a figment of a fertile imagination? Is it pie in the sky by and by, or the ultimate dwelling place of God with His people? I am convinced that heaven is a real special place. Heaven is not a figment of an overworked imagination. Nor is it just pie in the sky by and by. It’s not merely a grown up version of a big rock candy mountain.
Although heaven is a real place populated with real people, it is still beyond the keen of the mind of mortal mind to begin to comprehend its magnificence. Paul could not utter the sense of awe he felt about it, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Can you imagine the amazement of our rural forefathers would experience if they could see the wonders of modern cities and civilisation today? Heaven is a place designed and built for the people of God by the Architect of this vast universe. Look at the beauty of this world and multiply that beauty by infinity and we might have an inkling of the beauty of that other land. Imagine a place without any of the terrible effects of sin and the fall of man. Imagine paradise restored in all its perfection and completion. Such is unimaginable! - John White
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