“Is Heaven Worth It?”
If you’re a living, breathing human being, at some point in your life you have said, “This is what heaven must be like” — or some variation of that statement. I’ve said it, you’ve said it, everyone has said it. It usually comes after a magical experience like biting into a perfectly cooked steak or a massage after years of abusing your body through sports and strenuous activity (speaking from personal experience here). This phrase is muttered as an expression of bliss, relief, and/or complete satisfaction. Unfortunately, it seems heaven has been reduced to a weekend vacation at a resort filled with food, fun, and relaxation.
Where Is Your Heaven?
I’ve recently been thinking about heaven a lot. And ashamedly, it’s the first time I’ve really spent time mulling over heaven as a believer. As I talk to other believers, especially younger believers, it seems that nobody spends any time considering heaven. When asked what their thoughts are about heaven and what it’s going to be like, it’s shocking to hear that many have little to no idea about what heaven actually is — and I’m one of them. What’s even more alarming is the thoughts that many have about heaven don’t seem to come from Scripture but mainstream culture, cartoons, books, and movies. Heaven is supposed to be the true home for the Christian and the place we long to be (Philippians 3:20), yet if we listen to the idea of heaven the world describes to us, it seems heaven isn’t that desirable and truthfully can be obtained here on earth. For example, in the country singer Kane Brown’s song “Heaven”, which has over 235 million plays on YouTube, the chorus states
“Everybody’s talking about heaven like they just can’t wait to go
Saying how it’s going to be so good, so beautiful
Lying next to you, in this bed with you, I ain’t convinced
Cause, I don’t know how, I don’t know how heaven, heaven
Could be better than this.”
As much as this chorus pains me, this is the idea of heaven that arguably millions of people have bought into, including me for the majority of my life. All around we’re being told that heaven is found in the arms of a loved one, enjoying the pleasures of life. Even among Christians, heaven can be thought of as nothing more than golden roads in the clouds, baby angels flying around, and hanging out with friends and family that have already passed away.
A Heaven Worth Pursuing
If heaven really is just all the things talked about above, it doesn’t merit much thought or pursuit. It’s easily imaginable and just as easily obtained. But, the heaven described in Scripture is so much more than that. There are two things from Scripture that I want to point out that show heaven is worth all-out pursuit:
Everything is made right in heaven.
In heaven, we will return to the Garden of Eden before the fall of mankind where everything was right, true, and blissful. Revelation 21:4-5a says,
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
No more death. No more pain. No more sorrow. All things are being made new. This is an astounding truth that should give us hope in our home. This is a truth that should make us long for heaven, not be indifferent about it. The bondage of sin will no longer have any hold on us, and we will no longer feel its effects. We will be existing eternally in our glorified bodies (Philippians 3:21) without fear, anxiousness, pain, worry, or sorrow. Part of the reason I’ve been dwelling on heaven so much lately is because I’ve been fighting through bouts of serious depression and anxiety. There have been times where all I wanted was to have whatever feeling I had in the moment go away. And that is what is promised to me in heaven. And though I long for this aspect of heaven, it pales in comparison to the greatest thing about heaven…
We will see our Father face-to-face.
The greatest thing about heaven is unfortunately one of the least talked about aspects of heaven. The greatest part of heaven is not what is there, but who is there, namely God. Revelation 7:13-17 says,
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
We will stand before the one who created, redeemed, loved, kept, and pursued us, despite us turning our backs on Him time and time again. And we will worship and praise and serve Him for all eternity. We will stand before the same God that when Moses met with Him, his face shone so bright they had to cover it (Exodus 34:29-35), and when Isaiah saw Him, he fell on his face and pronounced judgement on himself (Isaiah 6:1-5). This is infinitely greater than any other definition of heaven that the world could ever conjure up. If this reality doesn’t excite you and you would prefer a heaven with feasts, golden roads, and baby angels without the presence of God, you are going to hate the heaven that is described in Scripture. Heaven, as described in Scripture, is worth pursuing.
Pursue Heaven
If we are to truly live out Colossians 3:1-2, then we have to know what the “things above” really are. We have to know what heaven is really like. And we have to fall in love with that, not all the things the world has to offer us. My phone background convicts me every time I look at it. It’s a quote by D.L. Moody that says, “Everybody wants to enjoy heaven after they die, but they don’t want to be heavenly minded while they live.” If heaven is where we are going to be spending our ETERNITY, then maybe we should consider it more often and live in light of it more often. I hope I do.
Travis Skillingstad is the Campus Director over Augusta University. He graduated from Georgia College & State University and has been on staff with COA for 3 years.