If you’re a human and profess to know God, you’ve thought about what Heaven must be like. Even if you’re not a Christian, you've probably at least had thoughts about Heaven or some form of afterlife. It’s been ingrained in us to wonder about the life after this one. We humans, Christian or non-christian, are simply not content with dying without wondering about the possibilities of what is to come.
We’ve heard or said the light-hearted comments such as, “this tropical vacation must be what Heaven is like.” or upon those chicken wings finally making their way to your table at a restaurant you say, “now I’m in Heaven.” But have we really stopped to think what Heaven is?
See what the Bible has to say.
1 Corinthians 2:9: “However, as it is written:
'What no eye has seen,
What no ear has heard,
And what no human mind has conceived—
The things God has prepared for those who love him.’”
Okay, so we know Heaven is beyond our imagination. I love this verse because it makes me think of the things we already do know—the wonders on Earth God has already created. Things such as the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, the whole entire depths of the ocean, and SPACE and GALAXIES for crying out loud make my head spin. God’s creativity for our broken world is astounding; how much more the wonders in Heaven will be!
Revelation 21:21: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.”
So we know Heaven will be grand and beautiful. We know it will be a city where God dwells with streets of gold and pearl gates.
Revelation 21:4: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Hallelujah!
And the last verse: Revelations 4:8: “Day and night they never stop saying
‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, and is, and is to come.’"
Creatures surrounding the throne of Heaven were saying this over and over. And the 24 elders who also surround the throne praise and worship God eternally. This praise is not half-hearted. It is praise that is the highest, most ultimate praise the Lord deserves.
And all these verses bring me to this point: Heaven is about God. Heaven is about praising and worshiping God.
When I was little, I can remember my dad telling me that we will worship God all day in Heaven. And I remember thinking, “oh man, how boring! That doesn’t sound like Heaven to me.” And I look back on that time and realize it spoke to where my heart was. I didn’t want to go to Heaven to praise God, I wanted to go so I could do whatever I wanted, not get hungry, and not have to worry about earthly things.
With that being said, I think imagining Heaven is a good heart check. Is your ideal Heaven doing what you want to do, or is it praising and worshiping the Lord? If it’s the former, that Heaven doesn’t exist. Despite the way our culture paints it, Heaven is not about you. It is not there so you can love yourself more or look in the mirror all day or say, “Hey God, look at me! Look what I did!”
Heaven is to look at God and God alone. It is to worship him in his glory and power.
I’m no expert concerning Heaven, and we don’t fully know what it will be like, just as 1 Corinthians spells out. We do know, however, it will be glorious, sin-free, and filled with praise and worship.
And I praise the Lord for it.
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