Heaven

People everywhere, even Christians, wonder if there is anything else to look forward to in life. Sometimes, we feel the best has come and gone. Is there anything left to long for?

In a world that is depressing with terrible news, we are bombarded by the number of murders, killings, robberies, rapes, and on and on the list goes. Turning our attention to the heaven God has prepared for us is imperative. The Bible speaks of heaven from beginning to end. John’s description informs us with exciting descriptions.

We all have experienced the injustice and impurity of this world through betrayal, treachery, and duplicity. But here is a place where no impurity or injustice exists. There will be no shame, guilt, or muck and mire of sin.

We sometimes hear stories that are so cruel they have to be authored by demons from hell. The brutality, the violation of women and children, and the complete disregard for life sicken us. People who have suffered these things, such as the hostages from Israel, will need the rest of their lives to heal, and that will not be enough. In this heaven, God has prepared, and those things do not exist because there is no sin, and nothing impure can enter.

John records hearing a loud voice from the throne, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God” (Rev 21:4).

This is more than our brains can comprehend. The stain of all the sinners—the wrecked lives and accumulated pain is gone. And, in its place, there is a heaven that has never been contaminated by sin and never will be. And why is this? Because God lives there with his people. John writes, “There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev 21:4).

God’s presence prevents sin and disallows death, mourning, crying, and pain. This describes what every heart longs for but can’t find on this earth. We wonder what can happen. Where will the next evil come from? There is always the fear of some lurking danger, the fear of our greatest enemy, sickness, and death. Here is heaven—a new heaven and earth, a holy city, the presence of God, comfort for all sorrow, and protection from any future pain.

John writes: “To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life” (Rev 21:6). This promise is designed to make us thirst for the water of life more than we thirst for anything else. We will be satisfied when we drink.