Whether a culture indoctrination of the existence of an after-life, or a faith-built belief system, it is evident that people want to believe there is a better place than planet Earth. But what do they believe about Heaven? Check out some of these quotes:
"One road leads home, and a thousand roads lead into the wilderness." - C.S. Lewis
"Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company." - Mark Twain
"The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead." - (Proverbs 15:24)
"In heaven, all the interesting people are missing." - Friedrich Nietzsche
"Earth's crammed with Heaven, And every common bush afire with God: But only he who sees takes off his shoes." Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." - (Philippians 3:20)
"I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even worse." - Isaac Asimov
"To go to Heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here." - Jonathan Edwards
"Heaven and hell seem out of proportion to me: the actions of men do not deserve so much." - Jorge Luis Borges
"Everything smaller than Heaven bores us because only Heaven is bigger than our hearts." Peter Kreeft
"If I ever reach heaven I expect to find three wonders there: first, to meet some I had not thought to see there; second, to miss some I had expected to see there; and third, the greatest wonder of all, to find myself there." - Billy Joel
"If Heaven exists, to know that there's laughter, that would be a great thing." - Robin Williams
"Those who go to Heaven ride on a pass and enter into blessings that they never earned, but all who go to hell pay their own way." - John R. Rice
A wide spectrum of perspectives about the world to come, wouldn't you agree? One thing I have noticed while researching quotes for this blog is that those that are the most cynical about the existence of heaven still view the possibility of heaven through the lens of their own passions. They hope, if it is real, to be inhabited with the characteristics that they deem most valuable in their own lives. Christ followers view Heaven differently, recognizing that what gives Heaven value is that God Himself inhabits that place. I once heard it described like this, "What makes Heaven so attractive is that Jesus Christ resides there, not in Spirit, but in His glorified body. We can touch Him, we can see Him, we can talk to Him, we can laugh with Him. Jesus Christ is the ice cream of Heaven, everything else is just the toppings."
The Bible doesn't give us a lot of specifics about heaven, but it does talk about the reality of it's existence. It is a place that believers in Christ dream about and long to inhabit. In fact, Christians throughout history have written thousands of words, transformed many blank canvases, and composed numerous songs with the hope of capturing a small fragment of the wonder that awaits us in the afterlife. Yet the more important question remains, How does one get to Heaven? The Bible does not leave us to guess at this most important question, in fact, there are far more words written about how to gain access to Heaven, then about Heaven itself.
Jesus made it clear that the prize of Heaven is worth more than any other treasure we could possibly imagine. He also made it clear that admission to Heaven will cost us everything. "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." - (Matthew 13:44 - 46) Jesus also reminded us again of the cost and danger of investing in the wrong kingdom, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and yet forfeit his soul?" - (Mark 8:36)
Heaven is filled with wonders beyond our current ability to imagine. Just stop and try to imagine the most beautiful, joy-filled, pleasurable place your mind can conceive. Even with our imaginations we cannot do justice to what God has awaiting His children. "Rather, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him." - (1 Corinthians 2:9)
I'll close with the words of Randy Alcorn, who is the author of "Heaven",
"By losing our vocabulary of wonder, I mean that we've come to think of Heaven as utterly immaterial and non-physical, a home suited for body-less angels, not real people. Floating in clouds while strumming harps isn't anybody's idea of a great time. (Which is a great delusion that the evil one is successfully spreading throughout our culture by the way . . . ) But the Heaven God promises is for human beings, who aren't just spiritual but physical too. This is why the biblical teaching of the physical resurrection and eternal life together on the New (resurrected) Earth is so critical. Nobody wants to be a ghost and we can't get excited about a place we can't imagine.
In this life we marvel at and talk about the wondrous beauty of mountains, beaches, sunsets, lakes, and deserts. We're amazed with the majestic power of Niagara Falls and the awe of the Grand Canyon, a thunderous herd of wild horses, humpback whales, and the breathtaking rings of Saturn. These move us to awe and worship-and because we use a vocabulary of wonder we are pulled in, inspired and dream about going to such beautiful places. We save, plan, discuss, and hope for those times when we can travel to these wonders we have only before seen in the pages of books or on video.
The Bible tells us, "we are looking forward to a new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13) The problem is, many believers are not looking forward to a new heavens and new earth! They imagine this present life is the real life, their only opportunity to experience everything on their bucket list, when in fact, the place Jesus is preparing for us on the New Earth will be way better than the best of this life--all the present beauty and far more, with none of the sin and suffering." - Randy Alcorn
Jesus repeatedly spoke of eating and drinking together at great feasts in God's eternal kingdom, and everyone knew that feasts were full of fun and laughter and dancing. God reminds us to set our minds not on this life, but on the life and place that we were made for: Heaven. "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." - (Colossians 3: 1 - 2)
