Get Excited
Every night, my six-year-old daughter and I have devotions, and afterward, she says, “Let’s Talk!” “Well, what do you want to talk about?” I ask. “Heaven! Let’s talk about what’s in Heaven!” Her father went to heaven almost three years ago, so one might think that is where her fascination with heaven comes from, but not so. Together, Tensley and I had taught her about heaven. Her first pet was a fish we called Cowie, affectionately named after Tensley's favorite football team. Cowie probably lived longer in the store than he lived in our possession, but such is the life of a goldfish. When Cowie died, we had the option of replacing him without her knowing or introducing her to the reality of physical death and the afterlife. We chose the latter, and thank God we did because less than a year later, her father would step into eternity and join Cowie and countless others.
Charlotte is particularly fascinated with what is in Heaven so we take turns offering up what we think might be there. “What about a rainbow that you can slide down into a pool of Skittles!” she exclaims. “Okay, okay,” I respond, “What about real unicorn rides up a glitter mountain?” It is not necessarily your average everyday conversation, but maybe it should be. As believers, we talk about everything else; why is eternity not one of those regular conversations? Why is eternity not something we get excited about?
I told her, “When you were four years old, I was telling you about heaven and earth, and you started calling earth bad earth.” She laughed, “I did?” “Yes, you coined the term bad earth because, well, it is. Think about it: if you had the perfect life on earth, health, wealth, friends, and family, everything you could imagine, while you enjoy your perfect life, there is a child in the cancer ward of the hospital. There are starving children all around the world. People are being abused, raped, molested, and murdered. There are liars, cheaters, and thieves, and I could go on. So even if you have a pretty good life in this world, there is someone in this world who is suffering because of sin and wickedness. This ain't it, this world ain't it.”
Paul said in Philippians 1:21-24, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose, I cannot tell. For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” Indeed, it is better to be with Christ and to graduate from this bad earth into eternity; that is the goal. But as we continue to live in the flesh, we must live for Christ and produce fruit. Our lives are not to be centered around making this world our home, striving to have the best life ever, but instead working overtime to reach others for Christ and again, like Paul, to “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).
Abraham was “looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:9-10). David desired one thing, “to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of his life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple” (Psalm 27:4). Paul said, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). These men were not just aware of their eternal destination, they longed for it, they hungered for it, and they were not alone, even creation groans for eternity (Romans 8:22).
Believers, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). Make your conversations about eternity and get excited! Do not be distracted by worldly nonsense, but be enthusiastic about what is to come.
“Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). We are living in a very exciting time, live-action Bible prophecy. It is not scary or fearful, but exciting because if you are a believer, you know how this ends. As my daughter would say, Israel is the Pineapple of God's eye (Psalm 17:8), and the same God who watches over Israel watches over us. Keep them in your prayers and your sights. “For the LORD has chosen Jacob for Himself, Israel as His own possession” (Psalm 135:4). “Salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22). God is not in heaven pacing the streets of gold, worried about nuclear weapons, which candidate will win, or a two-state solution. God has a plan from before the beginning of time, and His plan will prevail. Get excited about it! Get excited about eternity!
“For the LORD Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air, and so we will always be with the LORD” (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17).
