Heavenly Travel Plans

“If they had longed for the country they came from, they could have gone back. But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Heb.11:15-16 NLT

My misses, grandkids, daughter, and some others are all making plans to go to Japan. I’m not going but this is a really big deal for them. Japan, how exotic, how mysterious. What an adventure! But all I can think of is how sore my feet would be from all that walking. Ilf I were to go I would need a wheelchair so I opted not to go.

But every now and then, like this morning, I think about the traveling plans that God has made for me. Sooner or later, more sooner then later because I’m in my mid 70’s, I’m going to die and when that happens I am going on some very magical, mystical ride to the very mysterious and wonderful, mind blowing place called heaven. Whoa baby!

I told my stuffy Lutheran brothers and sisters what I thought heaven was like. “Heaven is where we are all going to have fun. Fun, and a lot of it. I could see the bewilderment in their faces. I don’t think I am wrong here, in heaven we will do a lot of hanging around with each other, smiling, talking, and joking around and yes, just having fun.

“Lord, you alone are are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” Ps.16:5,11 NLT

Jesus Christ will come into our hearts in a different way that we experience him here on earth. He will enter the very center of our being and he will sit on the throne of our soul and take possession of us. Not in a evil devilish way but in a good and glorious way. From that moment on he will live His life through us. He will express himself through our personalities. Folks in heaven will see Christ from an altogether different angle, a  different look, a different expression. One that is new and unique, never seen before. He will express himself though us.

It will be you expressing Him. You will be Christlike. You and Jesus will be fused together so to speak but you will not lose yourself, your personality. On the contrary you will express yourself fully in the way that God originally meant us to be.

“And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting then God gives it the new body he wants it to have…” 1Cor.15:37,38 NLT

We won’t lose ourselves in heaven on the contrary we will be ourselves fully expressed. We will be everything that God intended us to be. And it will be good. Oh happy day. On happy days!

Don’t think of heaven as acquiring a bunch of stuff, are you anal? Heaven is a spiritual kingdom, there is no stuff for you to acquire  Jesus said, “the kingdom of God is within you.” That is true here on earth as well as in heaven. Christ in you now is a piece of heaven we have here on earth right now. Christ in you in heaven is what makes heaven, heaven. 

If this disappoints you then you have gotten off track somewhere along the way. The very first commandment, to love God with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and secondly to love our neighbor as ourselves is heaven in some portion right here on earth. Loving God and our fellow man in heaven is just a more perfect fulfillment of those two commandments only bigly. Really bigly.

We will get lost in His love, like little drops of rain falling into the ocean. The drop dissolves into the ocean becoming part of the ocean itself. Only with this very important caveat, we won’t actually lose ourselves, you will still be “you” but at the same time we will be “lost” in the great and mighty “ocean” of God’s love. I hope I am making sense.

In summary, make plans for this once in a lifetime trip. Jesus said, the servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. And again he said, you must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. Lu.12:38,40 NLT

Remember the old song that goes something like this, “all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go. Taxi is ready, he’s blowing his horn. Already I’m so lonesome I could cry… I’m leaving on a jet plane don’t know if I’ll be back again…”

Lets pack our bags, lets get ready to go. The taxi is ready, he’s blowing his horn. It is time to go. We are leaving this world of sin and sorrow, we won’t be lonely or sorrowful anymore. It is going to be a jet plane ride like we have never been on before. I can’t wait.

Of course there more to it then what I’m saying, I’m just saying what I think. The truth is nobody really knows the full extent of it and I don’t believe those folks who die and come back and tell us what heaven is like, their stories don’t line up. I just think we should get pumped up for the big trip, it is going to be awesome.