Heavenly Joy 

   “Joy is the serious business of heaven.” C. S. Lewis 

   Heaven, what is it?  Time and time again my thoughts come back to this question.  The problem is there is no real answer in this lifetime.  Heaven is love, heaven is happiness, heaven is joy, heaven is seeing our Lord face to face, heaven is eternity.  All of these concepts are expressed in human terms.  Will they mean the same thing in heaven?

   I suppose my thoughts of heaven and their frequency come from the fact that I’m getting older and that I look forward to a reunion with my wife when this life is over.  It really should be in our thoughts all the time as a means of encouraging us to prepare for our inevitable departure from this life.  We should consider our mortality each and every day.

   I believe we will be reunited with our loved ones in heaven, but even that is not fully understood in this life.  Jesus tells us that there is no marriage in heaven, “At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven.” (Matt 22: 30).  Still, I look forward to being reunited with my wife, though I’m not sure what that means except that it will be part of the joy of heaven.

   “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11: 1).  Life as a Christian means believing and looking forward to many things that are a mystery to me in this life, heaven being the greatest mystery.  I don’t fully understand it and never will in this lifetime, but my faith tells me that getting there is the purpose of living.