The Great Adventure

Many of the people I admire most are very concrete and literal in their thinking. They aren’t easily swayed by emotional arguments. They believe what they see with their own eyes rather than what others say. That is such a gift. They are rock solid, not blown about by public opinion, and they think for themselves in a society that constantly tells us what to think and who to trust.

As I get older—or maybe I should say, more experienced—I’ve realized that much of life isn’t concrete at all. In fact, the most important things in life cannot be seen; they can only be felt. Because there is far more than what we can perceive with our five senses, God gave us imagination.

Even the most literal thinkers must acknowledge that there is a vast universe of things we do not yet understand. We imagine a soul, heaven, and the entire spiritual realm. Because so much of life cannot be fully explained right now, we are asked to trust that there are evil forces at work—and also a powerful, loving, and good God who reigns over all.

Psalm 33:4 (NLT)

For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.

We must be careful not to dismiss what cannot be proven by our senses alone. In the following passage, John recorded the words of Jesus inviting us to trust His promises, even when we cannot see the outcome yet.

John 14:1–2 (AMP)

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

Anticipating Heaven

We plan vacations, weddings, retirements, Christmas celebrations, and parties. When we imagine them, we begin to live for them. Vacation planning pushes everything else to the background—we become focused and single-minded.

What if we anticipated heaven the same way?

What if we lived with our eyes fixed on our true home with God? Even the heinous evil of this world would begin to lose its grip. Molehills would remain molehills instead of becoming mountains of worry and dread. We would live with the end in mind.

And who would we tell about this great vacation—the vacation to end all vacations—so they could share in the joy of anticipating it too?

After all, we are told our time on earth, with all its brokenness, is only a short trial before we go home to live with our Heavenly Father. Imagine a home designed by the One who created the night sky, mountain showers, and fluffy snowflakes. How breathtaking will that be?

We are told there will be no more pain or suffering—or even the fear of pain. Imagine a world where cancer and mental illness have no power. No hunger. No homelessness. No borders. No speed limits. No addictions, no abuse, and no one looking down on you for any reason.

You will sing. You will dance. You will fly.

And you will never again be separated from those you love.

All the things that delight you on earth come from God, so I believe they will be there too. Mountain climbers will climb. Archaeologists will dig. Naturalists will wander through unspoiled beauty. Readers will read. Shoppers will shop. Pet lovers will delight in their pets. And we will finally know the goodness of God beyond anything we have ever experienced.

So this is me—inviting you to imagine. And to rest assured that heaven is real and will be the adventure of a lifetime.

As Steven Curtis Chapman sings, “Let’s saddle up our horses and follow our Leader into the glorious unknown.”

This is The Great Adventure.

Dare to Imagine Heaven

We talk about heaven so little, you’d think it was a taboo topic. And when it does come up, it’s often reduced to vague, cloudy clichés that feel more like a bad greeting card than the hope of eternity. But what if we dared to imagine it—really imagine it—the way Scripture hints and our hearts long for?

While writing this blog, I witnessed a near miss—a speeding small car almost collided with a big semi that had pulled out into the middle of traffic. Nothing makes me think about my existence after death more than DFW traffic!

Heaven is a topic we seldom talk about. And if we do, it is usually in very vague terms. That’s probably because it’s the one thing no one on earth has ever truly experienced. We don’t have experts. We do have a handful of people who died, felt God’s presence (or absence), and were then brought back to life. But even they didn’t see the full heavenly experience.

As a child, my dad and grandfather would endlessly discuss how and when they believed Jesus would return. Way too early in life, I was exposed to words like premillennialism, amillennialism, and postmillennialism. To this day, I couldn’t tell you much about any of those terms because my mind tuned it all out. In fact, for many years I read passages in Isaiah and Revelation much like I would read Narnia, thinking, “It’s a nice idea—but get real.”

Then I read a book that changed my whole perspective about our heavenly future. It was called All Things New: Heaven, Earth and the Restoration of the Things You Love by John Eldredge. I loved that it didn’t try to give me a timeline. Instead, it focused on the glory we will experience someday. It gave me a hope I had long ago buried and left my imagination to fill in the beautiful details. Now, I see our final destination as something to anticipate and savor—it is the prize Paul talked about in Philippians.

Campfires

There is something special about staring into a campfire surrounded by friends and family.  I can’t think of anything I like more on this planet. To me, this is heaven on Earth. 

Have you ever seriously thought about what heaven will be like? And I don’t mean that silly cloud stuff of cartoon world. I mean heaven located on this renewed, refreshed, pristine planet Earth, when heaven is as real as our backyard. We are told there will be a notable absence of dissension, stress, disease, pollution and death. I imagine heaven to be a lot of hanging around campfires in our lawn chairs, eating s'mores, our dogs and cats peacefully by our side, swapping stories with old friends, new friends and family. Then we will find a renewed understanding between us all.  

Think about all the people you will get to meet and their untold stories...the disciples, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Nicodemus, and Lazarus. They will tell us what it was really like to buddy with the Savior while being stalked by all forms of evil. According to John, precious little even made it to our Bible. I want to know all the details! John states at the end of his book in the bible: 

John 21:25 NIV
[25] Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

Someday we will hear every story and understand all we seek to understand here and now. I believe it is good for us to stop and think about what heaven will be like. It brings peace to the soul.

1 Corinthians 13:12 NIV
[12] For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

I can only imagine.  

I Can Only Imagine