God did not create us to live forever in this world, and we need to understand that our bodies are not designed for it. Instead He wants us to spend time with Him in heaven. There comes a time when all who have accepted Him as their Savior will receive that call to enter heaven. Some of us will go when we are young, others will live a long life (according to earthly standards), but one day all believers in Christ will enter heaven and there will be no need for clocks because time will be no more. Eternity is forever and that is what we can look forward to.
My father is 90 years old and has Parkinson’s. Today he went to the emergency room and the doctors found a large malignant tumor in his liver. He has felt bad, experienced pain, and been very lonely for quite some time. It appears as though the Lord is finalizing preparations for his homecoming, and is getting ready to welcome Dad to his sparkling new mansion in paradise. What a great day of rejoicing it will be for him to enter heaven and see Jesus and be reunited with all of those who have gone on before him, (and there have been many).
I can only dream of the beautiful music, sights, and sounds in heaven that he will enjoy on that day. The Bible states that heaven is so wonderful that our limited intellects and fleshly minds cannot even comprehend it. All suffering, tears, grief, pain, sickness, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, wars, evil, envy, and death will be permanently removed and we will be made perfect in the likeness of Jesus Christ as His sons and daughters.
The radiance of Jesus will illuminate heaven and there will be no night. I suppose we will all be insomniacs at that point. The saints in heaven will walk on gold streets. We will rest, but I don’t believe that heaven is a state of sleep and idleness; we will have spiritual unification, not only with God, but with one another.
My Dad is looking forward to that day with great anticipation and I’m happy for him. Barring something unforeseen I will be the last remaining member of our little family, and although it’s a lonely feeling, I’m exceedingly happy for Dad as he inches further toward receiving that honor and for the other members of our little family who have gone on ahead of us and are at this moment celebrating Christ’s victory over death.
Christians of faith grieve for ourselves and our personal loss, but not for the graduation of one of God’s children from this world to the next. It’s quite a different story than those who die and do not know the Lord. The Bible states unequivocally that their eternal destiny will consist of eternal darkness separated from the light of Jesus. The Bible states that all good comes from God. Imagine being in a place where there is absolutely not one shred of good…Forever!
The Bible tells us that we should think of death often and when it’s put in this context it’s easy to understand God’s reasoning. Think about your family, friends, and yes your own eternal destiny. Is everyone ready? As for me I yearn for my heavenly healing…
Rev. 22:2
…down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.