Whether you love your life on earth or long for something better. And yet, maye you can’t imagine leaving it. It’s all you know. It’s how God designed us. We long to return to our perfect home in Eden. The good news is, that time is coming when the old earth will pass away and the “new earth” will come down from heaven. It will be in fact heaven on (a perfect) earth. We can’t know everything about heaven but God’s Word has a lot to tell us about it. And it seems scripture indicates the new earth will bear a strong resemblance to the one we love, except without the reign of evil and corruption over our lives.

 

We’re told it’s a city which implies to me a place of gathering and great celebrations of all kinds. There will be walls and gates of great splendor, but the gates will remain open. Heaven is described as a country which implies borders, rulers, at least one river and trees. Heaven’s inhabitants will have perfect bodies that don’t age or get sick. As Randy Alcorn says in his book, Heaven, “The problem is not that the bible does not tell us much about heaven. It’s that we don’t pay attention to what it tells us.” He adds, “We can only desire what we can imagine.” I wonder, have you been imagining heaven lately?

 

Some people conjecture that heaven is not a real place. But Jesus says:

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” John 14:2-4

 

Though we measure our lives by years and decades, we’re really here only for a moment compared to our eternal lives that will never end. For believers this is a stopping point on the way to something so much better! It’s hard to grasp how we fit into such an eteranl scheme, but Alcorn suggests it may be helpful to view history in three stages:

“The Past” – when God first created this earth and everything in it, including man and woman. There was a perfect garden where everyone and everything lived in perfect harmony. No curse of sin, no shame or guilt. No death. God walked with his creation and they personally knew his goodness and power and love. There was no famine or scarcity of resources, only abundance wherever you looked. It was paradise on earth. And God revealed his plan for man to rule the earth and fellowship with him. The new heaven will be a lot like that.

 

“The Present” age starts with man’s decision to trade God’s truth for a lie, a problem that persists in our own lives today. We know the truth God speaks to us and how his ways are so much better than ours, but we believe the lie that we could do better. What was once perfect and incorruptible now became subject to disorder and decay. While life was easy in Eden, life became hard and work became toilsome. We experience shame and guilt and everyone and every living thing dies at some point. Sickness and disease and famine and wars replace peace and enjoyment. Mankind was cut off from the close fellowship once experienced with God. Once satisfied, now we are never fully satisfied.  We enjoy the forgiveness of sin if we accept that gift from Jesus but we continue to wrestle with temptation all our days.

 

“The Future” is as glorious as The Past for those who love God. Mankind is restored along with the heavenly bodies we are given. Everything is new, refreshed, restored, redeemed! We get to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, reunite with loved ones who’ve gone before us, meet the saints of old, and fellowship directly with Jesus! There will be no more crying, sorrow, or pain, no more death either. No sin. No temptation. No fears, worry, or trouble. We will experience the fullness of God’s greatness as we are restored to perfection. The earth itself and all creation will be restored to fullest beauty and harmony. Evil will be cast away and God’s plan will be accomplished.

 

Heaven! Can you imagine it?