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Last Sunday we talked about the need to have a strong, spiritual security in the midst of a threatening, insecure world. We need to know the assurance that Christ will receive us into heaven when we die. Today we remember those who did just that. They crossed the river. They walked down the tunnel towards the light. They stepped into the light of eternal love. What is life in heaven like for those who had died in the faith? Those of us who have loved ones in heaven certainly wonder about this question. What is it really like to be in heaven? Sometimes, what we don’t understand, we joke about. Father Murphy walks into a pub, and says to the first man he meets, "Do you want to go to heaven?" The man said, "I do Father." The priest said, "Then stand over there against the wall." Then the priest asked the second man, "Do you want to go to heaven?" "Certainly, Father," was the man's reply. "Then stand over there against the wall," said the priest. Then Father Murphy walked up to O'Toole and said, "Do you want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said, "No, I don't Father." The priest said, "I don't believe this. You mean to tell me that when you die you don't want to go to heaven?" O'Toole said, "Oh, when I die, yes. I thought you were getting a group together to go right now." In another story a fellow finds himself in front of the Pearly Gates. St. Peter explains that it’s not so easy to get in heaven. There are some criteria before entry is allowed. For example, was the man religious in life? Attend church? No? St. Peter told him that's bad. Was he generous? Did he give money to the poor? No? St. Peter told him that that too was bad. Did he do any good deeds? Help his neighbor? Anything? No? St. Peter was becoming concerned. Today’s scripture is from the book of Revelation. One of the fascinating aspects of the last book in the New Testament is that its very name indicates that its purpose is to reveal something. Revelation. Instead, it is one of the most veiled books in the entire Bible. As with other scripture we often want to know what this means to us today. This book requires detailed study, especially about the culture in which it was written. Chapter 7 is about a vision given to John about heaven. God is seated on a throne with the multitudes singing praise to God and bowing down before him. They are involved in the activity of worship day and night. And God shelters them. There is no more hunger or thirst…no more scorching sun. God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Author, James Packer, wrote, "What shall we do in heaven? Not lounge around but worship, work, think, and communicate, enjoying activity, beauty, people, and God. First and foremost, however, we shall see and love Jesus, our Savior, Master, and Friend." Heaven is not so much a place. The first Russian cosmonauts into space reported that they did not see heaven. It is a reality that transcends geography. As hard as it is for our minds to grasp this, try we must. Heaven is not a physical place that can be located in a particular point in time and space. It is a spiritual reality that is not bound by physical matter. An unknown author once said, "As a boy, I thought of heaven as a city with domes, spires, and beautiful streets, inhabited by angels. By and by my little brother died, and I thought of heaven much as before, but with one inhabitant that I knew. Then another died, and then some of my acquaintances, so in time I began to think of heaven as containing several people that I knew. But it was not until one of my own little children died that I began to think I had treasure in heaven myself. Afterward another went, and yet another. By that time I had so many acquaintances and children in heaven that I no more thought of it as a city merely with streets of gold but as a place full of inhabitants. Now there are so many loved ones there I sometimes think I know more people in heaven than I do on earth." Do you know someone in heaven? Of course you do. Some of them are your closest friends. Some of them are your father, your mother, your husband, your wife, your child. You wonder, perhaps every day, what is happening to them…what they are doing. I love the last scene of the movie, "Places in the Heart." The characters in the movie are sitting together in a country church serving each other communion. The camera pans and follows the communion tray across the pew as each person partakes. Then it hits you! The sheriff who was shot and killed in the movie is present sharing the same communion. And then you realize this is heaven, a place where everyone has a seat at the table of the Lord. Skin color won’t matter in heaven. Position and power won’t matter in heaven. Money won’t matter in heaven. Contrary to popular opinion, it’s not about us. It’s about God, and God’s rightful place of honor and glory in your heart and mine. When you come forward this morning to receive the gift of the bread and cup, picture in your mind your loved one in heaven standing next to you. Because they are here already enjoying the fullness of this holy meal. Terry McInnes took her 5-year-old son Colin to his first funeral. It was for a boy a year younger who had died in a freak accident. He had choked to death after tripping and falling while chewing bubble gum. During the service, Colin acted much as any 5-year-old would act during a worship service; fidgeting, wandering, whispering, except he seemed absolutely entranced by the little casket in front, draped with a white cloth and with a lit candle on top. After the service, Colin watched as the ushers removed the cloth and candle and carried the casket down the steps. Colin's mother explained how Cory's body was in the box, which would be buried in the ground, but that Cory's spirit was in heaven with God. As they walked down the steps toward the car, Colin paused and said: 'Mom, that wasn't a box that Cory was in.' She said, 'You're right, it wasn't really a box, but I was just trying to explain it to you in the best way I could.' Colin said, 'I think it looks like a treasure chest.' This past Wednesday at our PACE classes I was talking with one of our children who was dressed as Buzz Lightyear, from the movie, Toy Story. I couldn’t think of his famous saying, just before he flies off on a new adventure. Do you remember? To infinity and beyond! As children of God you and I have a life that begins today. We have a place in the heart of God that will last to infinity and beyond! Christian singer, Kathy Troccoli, tells this story: When my niece Gina was very little, we would engage in that familiar exchange you have with children you're crazy about. I asked her one day, "Do you know how much I love you?" She looked at me with eager and excited expectation. "All the way to the sky," I said. She climbed into my lap. "Well, I love you all the way to the ocean," she said. "Oh yeah?" I squeezed her tight and tickled her gently. "Well, I love you all the way to heaven." "Well, I love you ..." she began, then, "I love you ...." She contemplated her answer more intensely. Finally, taking a deep breath, she said, "I love you all the way to K-Mart… in the toy department." Kathy writes, "I suppose if you told Jesus, 'I love you all the way to ...' he would answer back that he loved you all the way to the cross, and that he'll continue to love you throughout eternity. It takes your breath away, and you can only respond with a heart of thankfulness." |
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11.03.02 - To Infinity and Beyond! (Revelation 7:9-17)
