Heaven 

   “And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”  (John 14: 3) 

   I spend quite a bit of time thinking about heaven.  I know it’s an effort to understand something that cannot be understood, but I feel it is a worthy subject to consider since heaven is my goal in life.

   Ask a child where heaven is and they will usually point to the sky.  I suspect most adults also think of heaven as “someplace up there”.  I often wonder if heaven is an actual place.  If so, where is it?  People talk of “going to heaven” but no one knows where it might be.

   Jesus said He was going to prepare a place for us, but He also said that He would come back and take us to Himself.  Is heaven a place or a communion with God?  If it is a place, and all those who have accepted Jesus as their savior are there, along with all the angels and saints, it must be an extremely large place.  It must also have room for all those who are living today and those who have yet to be born so it will need to grow.

   What if heaven isn’t a place at all?  What if it is a state of being?  After His resurrection Jesus’ risen body was no longer limited by the laws of nature.  He came and went at will, appearing and disappearing in an instance.  Will our risen body be the same?  If so, is there a need for a physical place called heaven?

   What if heaven is defined as eternity in the presence of God knowing all the love, joy, and happiness He wishes to give in whatever manner He chooses to give them?  What if hell is defined as the absence of God and knowing the loss of love, joy, and happiness because of sin?

   Heaven is like so many other things of God, it is not understandable in this life.  Perhaps when this life is over the questions will be answered.  For now, faith and trust in God is what is needed. 

I can’t understand heaven.

I accept that fact.

Where it is or what it is doesn’t matter.

Heaven is my wish for eternity. 

Amen