Realities

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
Colossians 3:1-2 NLT

Today, I attended the funeral of a teenaged girl who changed the lives of those around her with her incredible smile. She was a special needs child and non-verbal, but her smile spoke volumes. Tuesday evening, I will attend another funeral for one of my friends. I will miss the comfortable camaraderie and repartee of our relationship. The good news is I know where both of them will spend eternity.

Pastor Alan used our Promise for Today as the Scripture basis for today's service and I was struck by the phrase realities of heaven. Have you ever given Heaven any real thought? Have you ever stopped to ponder what it will be like? Oh sure, we talk about streets of gold and gates of pearl, the 24 elders on their thrones, and meeting Jesus face-to-face, and talking with our favorite persons from the Bible, but have we thought beyond those things? 

It's not going to be all white lights and no color. There's going to be plenty of color! Ezekiel talks about a sapphire throne and the glory of the Lord - that the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. Revelation tells us that the foundations of the city walls are adorned with every kind of precious stone and John also said, At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it. The One seated there looked like jasper and ruby, and a rainbow that gleamed like an emerald encircled the throne. We're not going to riding around on clouds and playing harps all day... We're not going to be angels. Angels are separate beings. We have a song of praise that the angels cannot sing because we have been redeemed. And I don't want to burst anyone's bubble, but we're not going to have wings, either.

Are we guilty of letting Hollywood define our idea of Heaven? That cannot be good. Paul tells us to set our sights on the realities of Heaven. What are those realities? We need to search those out because we are now one day closer to our eternity than we were yesterday.

Prayer:

Father, 

           Thank You for all the incredible sights we have here on Earth. Thank You for the people You put in our lives to love us, to teach us, to be examples. Help us to learn all we can from them. Teach us to love them as You have loved us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen