Happy COVID-19 year.
I am recovering from a light case of the virus with only some lingering fatigue, which might be age related. Mary is getting stronger after getting hit pretty hard. She did not serve a hospital sentence but she was in bed most of the time for a couple of weeks.
She now can get out and into bed on her own which is a relief to my back. The good side of this is we now are immune for a period of time. Our heart hurts for the loss of friends who didn’t make it and others who are still struggling. Only God knows what will come of this as we reflect on it in years to come.
Speaking of years to come this reminds me of a sermon I heard last week from a Catholic priest. He spoke of the negative things we will not experience in heaven. Heaven becomes nearer with each passing year so this caught my attention.
Many are suffering pain of various sorts. Sometimes emotional pain can be worse than physical pain. In heaven there will be no pain from broken relationships. No broken marriages or prodigal children or prodigal parents in heaven. No politics in heaven. Aren’t you glad?
No group will be trying their hardest to make the other group look bad. We will all serve the King of Kings in a benevolent theocracy.
No hateful speech or name calling in heaven. We will only experience the love of God so fully that there will be no desire to put someone else down are seek a higher place. There will be no joblessness or homelessness in heaven.
Don’t you hurt when you hear about someone, perhaps your child, has lost his job? That won’t happen in heaven. There always will be something to do which has meaning and purpose. There will be no guilt in heaven. That was taken care of on the cross but far too often it affects believers who can’t shake deeds of the past. There will be no tears in heaven — no sad goodbyes.
One thing I’m not sure about but I hope it is true. I hope there will be instant recall of names of friends from the past. That would be wonderful. All this makes me want to go there soon.
The Apostle Paul faced this dilemma. In his letter to the church at Philippi he stated, “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”(Phil. 1:21) His joy in Christ in this life was great, yet part of him wanted to be done with this world, so to die would be gain. It was a win/win situation. He knew that to remain in the flesh would allow him to have fruitful labor among the new Christians, but it sure would be good to put an end to the suffering he experienced.
Obviously, neither he, nor do we, have a choice in the matter. While we await that glorious homecoming, we are to serve — or have fruitful labor among God’s people and advance the Kingdom in ways unique to our giftedness.
The most important thing is to be ready when your time comes. Be assured it won’t be because of the good life you have lived. It will depend on what you did with Jesus Christ.
Did you surrender your life to him as Lord or did you do some good things, hoping God would grade on the curve. You better find out before it is too late.
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