heaven

Will Heaven Be Boring?

/ Lee A. Robinson / 1 Comment

Can you think of any people that you just love to be around? It seems like time flies and you wish you could just be with them forever? It may be someone whose humor hits the spot with you, or someone who is so kind and understanding, or someone you simply adore? When we are with that person, it is not the setting or situation that makes it special – the person makes it special, and your relationship with them. It is not the things you possess, the activities you are doing, or the food you are eating that draws you in, but rather the person is all you need. It is enough to observe how they interact with the world around them, with you. Simply watching them is worth living. 

It seems as though most times, when heaven is thought about or discussed, there is more attention given to the setting rather than to the Person who we will be with. There will be no sin, no sorrow, no pain; streets of gold; the tree of life; the river of life. Yes, but all of those things are simply accessories, they are additions to the real thing – being with God. People say, “Heaven sounds boring – floating around on clouds for all eternity!?” That is not at all what Heaven is, but the main point is missed – Heaven is being with God! And being with God means that will will be in uninterrupted, unending fellowship with a Perfect Being of Love. No person on earth can truly satisfy us, especially forever. Everyone at some point either gets boring or frustrating, but God never will.  

Can you imagine the jokes that God will tell? We have experienced on the earth some pretty deep humor in our relationship with God. He knows how to reach deep into the depths to tickle our soul. What kind of laughter will be produced in us in the presence of an infinitely wise, good, and all-knowing God! And that added to the fact that there will be the utter absence of uncleanness and pride – those types of things that kill joy. You that belly laugh we all get when we crack up? It is surreal. Will we laugh like that for a thousand years? 

Can you imagine watching God at work or play? Have you ever watched in awe at a person working their craft? I have always been floored by how some artists draw or paint. Can you imagine watching God draw something? I’m sure there would be pin drop silence, and all of heaven with jaws dropped, amazed at his handiwork on a canvas. Have you ever watched a man with wonder doing some kind of task that requires great power? I remember staring at a video one time watching a man do what seemed like endless amounts of a variety of pull-ups, just thinking, “Man that is some strength right there.” Can you imagine what kind of works of power we will get to watch God perform? How about watching God bowling with planets as pins? Can you imagine the rumble of that strike!? Can you imagine being in the crowd of saints and angels cheering? 

Can you imagine hearing God sing or play an instrument? I absolutely love music. I get it. I love to just sit and close my eyes, contemplate and muse over music. It really strikes a chord with me for some reason :). There are times when I am just in awe over the beauty and inspiration of some pieces, it can be truly and deeply satisfying. But what will these be in comparison to God as composer? To experience him singing or playing? Our hearts will burst! We will be elevated straight up into the air. We will be totally floored. Can you imagine the standing ovations? Recitals lasting for a thousand years, each piece better than the one before, but the first was absolutely divinely magnificent?!  

We could go on and on about how wonderful it will be to watch God (we will one day). But then we could talk about things that hit home a little more. Can you imagine God doting on you? My wife sometimes just stares at me. Sometimes it can be a little embarrassing, but it is precious, because she is adoring me (at least I think that’s what she’s doing). Try to ponder God’s face, staring at you with a gentle smile and soft countenance, looking deep into your soul, non-verbally communicating to you, “You are mine, forever. I love you, forever. We are together, forever.” How could that be boring? More like thrilling and completely satisfying. What will His hugs be like? What will it be like to make plans together with God? There is much about my life right now that is an adventure- and a part of me wishes I had a thousand years to be able to do in this earth all that is in my heart, so I cannot imagine how interesting and thought provoking it will be to adventure with God in an unveiled state.  

What will it be like to be taught by God? Any true Born-Again Christian has experienced a supernatural relationship with the Bible. There have been times when we just sat back in fear mingled with joy saying, “This Book is alive!” But can you imagine His lectures in Person (no zoom meetings in heaven)? Lectures on any topic not just theology, but also physics, art, or communication? We will be learning, right? If Jesus as a man learned, then of course there will be learning and growing in Heaven. Can you imagine how profound those “aha” moments will be? “Whaat?”  

So, in answer to the question – No, Heaven will not be boring. It will never be stale, dull, uneventful, colorless, repetitive, flat or mundane. Each moment will overflow with inexpressible peace, joy, happiness, wonder, amazement, passion and super-abundant glory. And none of this is ultimately derived from the places or things that will be in Heaven, but rather from GOD Himself. O for that day to come! 

Do you have a loved one that has died? Imagine the glory they are in right now. 

Is life today feeling more like death? Hope in God. He is good, and will bring you to His Paradise in due time. This too shall pass. We are going on from glory to glory. And draw near to God. If Heaven is bliss because of God, not the setting, then recognize that you already have God. Our understanding is yet imperfect, but focus on who He is today, what He is saying and doing, and you’re guaranteed to find much more pleasure and joy than focusing on yourself or the things of this world. 

If you don’t know Christ as your Savior – today is the day to secure your future with Him. 

There is only one thing that would keep us out of Heaven, and keep us from enjoying Him forever. That one thing is sin. It is not a lack of religion or good deeds that keeps people away from God, but rather the presence of something unpleasant and repulsive to God – sin. God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If you want to be united with God today and for all eternity, you must be forgiven and cleansed of your sins. And this is all that needs to happen. Thankfully, God, in His love, gave His Son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for your sins on the cross. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended back to Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, as a Mediator or Advocate before God, our ultimate Judge. God has promised that if we acknowledge our sinfulness and trust in Christ’s offering for our sins, that He will forever forgive all of our sins, even our future ones. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) Call upon Him today, right now, and I’ll look forward to seeing you in glory!    

Are You Ready To Die?

/ Lee A. Robinson / 6 Comments

Death is not the subject we ever want to talk about. It’s the last call we ever want to receive. Death is the last face we want to stare into. But death is real. All of us are going to die. You will. Are you ready to die? 

On Christmas morning my brother in law received a call that a family member woke up to her husband unexpectedly dead in bed. I just got off a phone call with a dear friend intubated in the hospital most likely breathing her last breaths. We have heard of many Covid cases recently, many among very vulnerable people. During our recent family skirmish with Covid we became nervous about my wife not making it due to severely low oxygen levels. 

Death comes. Sometimes it’s foreseen, sometimes unexpectedly, but nevertheless it comes. The death rate is 100%. No one escapes. It may sound far fetched and unlikely, but you could die today. In the United States just about 100 people die each day in a car accident. None of those people today are pulling out of their driveways expecting it to happen. Visit the cemetery today and you will find many buried who were younger than you. Even if you live to be old, the time is coming quickly. 10% of the American population dies every year (about 3.3 million people). The time to be prepared for death is today. 

There are no greater answers in the world for being ready to die than the Holy Bible. Notice how this is the source people run to for funerals, engravings, etc. Death and Life are major subjects of that Book. It’s pages reveal to us why we die, what happens after we die, and more importantly, how we can be personally assured of life after the grave. Take a few moments today to hear these things, and if need be, allow God to open your heart and mind before the time is too late…

Why do we die? 

The Bible teaches clearly that God designed mankind to live forever. He created the world without defect or death (Genesis 1-2). God placed in the middle of the garden of Eden two trees: The Tree of Life and The Tree of the Knowledge of Good & Evil. God commanded Adam & Eve to not eat from the second tree. If they did, the consequence was, “Ye shall surely die.” In the Bible, death is seen as a judgment from God. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” Death is wages, or the consequences of our sins. Death is a curse. It is not the natural outworking of the world that God made, but rather the result of us rebelling against the God who made us. 

Adam & Eve sinned, and because they did they died. You and I have sinned, and because we have, we will die. Romans 3:23 concludes that, “All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We have all missed the mark. We all have failed the exam. We have all offended our conscience, broken God’s Laws, and done things which have earned us death – whether it be lies, slander, anger, fighting, bitterness, theft, drunkenness, fornication, adultery, disobedience, rebellion, etc. We all have different sins, but we all are alike in that we are fallen, sinful, condemned creatures. 

What happens when we die?

Why are we so afraid to die? 1 Corinthians 15:56 says, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.” Sin is like a spiritual venomous snake that we allow to bite us. It kills the body and the soul. If we had no sin we would not have to fear death, but we do have sin, therefore we fear death. Notice also it says, “the strength of sin is the law.” Our sins are actual crimes because God gave us a Law and a conscience. We are afraid to die because our death-date is also our court-date with our Creator, Almighty God. 

Revelation chapter 20 gives us a vision of this Final Judgment. God sits on his great white throne (symbol of purity) with certain books opened before him. We are sure that one of those books is his Law and another one is the detailed, faithful account of your entire life: every word, action, appetite, relationship, thought and even motive will be examined and tried by God’s Law. Those found guilty will be punished appropriately: “But the fearful, and unbelieving…and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). This is why so many people are afraid to die. We know intuitively that there is a day of reckoning, that our lives will be brought to account. If you have sinned and do not know that your sins are forgiven, you should be afraid. 

So we as people have two great spiritual problems – Sin and Death. Sin is the cause of our death; death is the result of our sins.    

How can we live?

Our father Adam disobeyed God which resulted in sin and death coming into the world (Romans 5:12). However, the Bible speaks of another “Adam,” the “last Adam,” whose obedience brought righteousness and life into the world – Jesus Christ (Romans 5). When mankind fell into sin and a curse in those beginning days, God promised that one day a child would come into the world who would deliver us from sin and death (Genesis 3:15). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world for the express purpose of solving our chief problems of sin and death: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15); “Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4); Romans 4:25 states that Jesus “was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.” 

Jesus solved the cause of our death (i.e. sin) when he was crucified, and then he solved the result of our sins (i.e. death) when he was resurrected. 

Jesus, as God & Man (the God-Man), was morally perfect. He did not deserve to die. But the good news of the Bible is that Jesus willingly went to judgment in our stead. He exchanged his perfect life for our sinful life. He embraced our judgment (death, judgment from God) so that we could embrace his reward (resurrection and eternal life). One Scripture that makes this very clear is 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he (God) hath made him (Jesus) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus was our perfect substitute as he hung on the cross. We committed the crime and he paid our fine. 

The Gospel (which means “good news”) is the promise that if we simply recognize our sinfulness, turn to God for forgiveness, and trust in Jesus’ sacrifice for us, we will be given the gift of eternal life. In John 3:16 Jesus promised, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Jesus also said in John 11:25-26, “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?” Jesus backed up these words by immediately after this raising a man from the dead (Lazarus) after he had been dead for four days!

The greatest proof we have that we can trust in Jesus, as recorded in the Bible, in that Jesus raised himself from the dead. He told the people that if they killed him he would raise himself on the third day (John 2:19). The only person who can help us overcome these two great enemies of sin and death is Jesus Christ, because he overcame both of them!!! 

Revelation chapter 1 gives us a vision of Jesus Christ risen from the dead and glorified in heaven. Here he says, “Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Revelation 1:17-18). He has the Keys! If you want out of this spiritual dungeon, call upon Jesus Christ! He is alive forevermore! 

The Bible concludes with the awesome promise and description of eternal life. Revelation 21:4 says, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” These promises are only for those who have repented of their sins and have trusted in Christ. Jesus is the Tree of Life. Eat from him today (by believing in him) and live forever! 

For further insight read: John 3; Romans 3-5; Revelation 1