SAMANTHA ELLEY says when life can be tough, “take a pause and remember that the best is yet to come”…
Northern Rivers, New South Wales, Australia
Heaven on Earth? While we may have different thoughts on the idea of Heaven, followers of Christ are promised an eternity with Him. PICTURE: Johannes Plenio/Unsplash
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” – I Corinthians 2:9
I remember as a little girl how much I looked forward to Christmas. Our family never did the advent calendar but I diligently counted down the days until Santa came. The excitement was often built to fever pitch and my parents had a tough time getting me and my brother to sleep on Christmas Eve.
As a young adult working long hours, I felt that same excitement when it was a countdown to going on holidays. The idea of two glorious long weeks stretched out in front of me without having to commute two hours each way to work in the city, was heaven.
“It is good to look forward to events in our lives, but too often we get bogged down with the mundane in our lives and forget what we have to look forward to eternally.”
Nowadays it is less excitement, but a definite joy when I realise I have a day of no commitments and can put my feet up, watch a movie, go for coffee or potter in the garden.
The problem with each of these situations is they eventually come to an end. Santa came and went and the toys were played with then forgotten. The holiday ended and it was back to the trudge of a long commute and work. The day off finished and there is a return to the commitments.
It is good to look forward to events in our lives, but too often we get bogged down with the mundane in our lives and forget what we have to look forward to eternally.
Jesus has promised that He will prepare ‘rooms’ for those who love Him. We don’t know what those rooms or places in Heaven will look, feel, or smell like but we know it will be pretty darn good when we are in the presence of God.
In various different Bible study groups we have made a game of imagining what Heaven could be like in our own personal way. For me, it has been a large house with an abundant library, next to the beach with a great surf and mountains in the background where one can go skiing. There is an endless supply of coffee and chocolate and so the wish list goes on.
Jokes aside, the beauty of looking forward to Heaven is that we know, as Jesus has promised, this life is not the end. We have the most amazing place waiting for us with him, and while we have no idea what it will be like, we are assured it will be beyond awesome, because He will be there.
So when the drudgery gets too much, or the news is constantly bad, take a pause and remember that the best is yet to come.
