Heaven....Forever Home

Do you believe in Heaven? I do! One day when I take my last breath in this world, I will take my first breath in Heaven. It is a goal worth pursuing. We have God's own words that describe heaven. In Revelation He tells us about this future home of ours. For the first third of my life, it was a mystical place. It was a lofty dream that someone as imperfect as me could never attain.

Heaven is ideal. There are streets of pure gold. Gates with pearls and precious gems. There will be no more pain, no suffering, no tears. We will be in constant praise of our Savior, and I can only imagine how beautiful it will be. If God gave us beauty in this world of flowers, sunsets, trees, streams, don't you think His heaven will be even more beautiful?

That hope is a part of who we are as believers. How do we know without a doubt we have that hope of a future eternity?  If we have believed Jesus is God's son, if we confess our sins to Him, and if we repent, turn from those sins, and if we ask Jesus to come into our hearts to rule, then we are born in the Spirit, and we become a child of God. Jesus is the only way to eternal life in heaven. If we do all that, and develop a personal relationship with Christ, we are assured we will live in heaven when we leave earth.

That promise becomes our new life. Knowing Heaven is real, knowing it will be our home, colors everything else we do in this life. When we lose a loved one, who is also saved, we grieve their absence but we have peace in knowing we will see them again one day.  Our handling pain and tragedies are different, because we know this will pass. We have a new joy, a new outlook, and a peace in our lives that cannot be explained.

Most of all, as the world gets scarier, and evil abounds, seemingly uncontrolled, I am not afraid. I know that God will get me through whatever comes along. Because I know where I will be when I leave here, I can handle anything this world holds. The same God who gave His son to die for me, is in control of this world. Before I was a born again believer, I feared everything, ultimately because I feared death. Now I know that even the worst that could happen, losing my life, is actually gain. When Jesus calls me home, I will step into His arms, forever!  That is the ultimate prize!