Good Like a Medicine

This isn’t about how to get to heaven - well, hopefully my whole blog kind of explains that. I’ll give you a big hint - JESUS CHRIST!

I’d like to chew over my present journey through Alcorn’s book: Heaven. The small group we have at our home on Sunday evenings is three weeks into our study together. Each week the book and discussion intices me more. I think every Christian should read this book - seriously! It’s rather thick (475 pages!) but oh, so worth it.

Before I share, though, I just have to show you a picture of Steven’s hair today.

Check out that form! We were looking at some couches in a furniture store, and everything he sat on made his hair look like this, quite to the amusement of everyone in there. One sales rep said he wished he could do that with his hair. He was bald, though. I didn’t know if he was joking or not. Ummm, nervous laughter.

Anyway. I thought you’d like that. He’s our little goofball.

Back to heaven. Like I said, it’s a must-read. I shall ditto the quote on the front cover, which states, “Other than the Bible itself, this may well be the single most life-changing book you’ll ever read” (Stu Weber). I don’t know yet if this book will change me as much as Piper’s Desiring God, but I’m certain it has already made quite a substantial impact.

Interruption again — I just got the funniest phone call. It’s late Friday night, Eric is at the grocery store, and the guy on the phone asked me to answer some questions for a survey about television viewing. I said, “Sorry, but we don’t watch television.” I tried to cut him off, but he said, “Oh, really? Well, wait a minute. You can still help me. May I send you a book about television viewing for you to read?” (What?!) I just said no thanks and ended it. Does anyone else think that is so funny? I mean, if you like to read books more than watch tv, why would you want to read about watching tv? That seems kind of tautological to me. Haha! That makes me laugh.

I’m sorry. Is anyone getting annoyed by this post? I might be getting annoyed. I guess I should write about what I sat down to write. This book - it’s so great! There are so many concepts that I have read that have really made me think about my misperceptions and skewed thoughts about eternity with God, but I’ll just share a few. I am very appreciative of the author’s conversational tone in the book and how he makes you feel like your questions about heaven are important, not stupid. First of all, Alcorn makes the important distinction between the intermediate heaven and the new heavens and new earth. This is really important. Admittedly I’ve never really thought about the difference. When referring to the intermediate heaven, Alcorn discusses about the place where Christians go (after they die but before the second coming of Jesus Christ). After Jesus returns to earth and the Final judgment occurs in the future, there will be a new earth and a new heaven, which we will inhabit with God forever. Many times we say “heaven,” but we aren’t specific, and that can cause a lot of confusion for us. According to scripture the new heavens and earth will be a physical place, and we will have resurrected bodies. The intermediate heaven/present heaven (where all of our loved ones are now who believed in Jesus Christ while living on earth) may or may not be a physical place, but most likely, it is physical and its people are physical. Think of the story of Lazarus and the rich man, the Revelation vision (Rev. 6) of the robed martyrs crying out for God for the justice of their blood, Jesus telling the thief on the cross that he will be with him today in paradise, Moses and Elijah recognizably appearing with Christ at the Transfiguration . . . The New Earth/eternal heaven will be our permanent relocation, and it’s going to be AWESOME. There is much, much more about this, but I don’t want to ruin it for you if you’re going to read it!

Second, I think most of us have the hidden “fear” that heaven might be boring, especially if we haven’t taken much time to study or ponder the subject. I remember going through a phase when I was a teenager in which I was scared of the thought of heaven. No one would have guessed that I would have felt these things beneath my smiling, evangelistic face, but I did. Ironically (yeah, right) that’s when I remember certain sins having a stronger grip on me. (Any child of God knows Satan doesn’t want us to be heavenly-minded, much less excited about going there!) Anyway, I cried when I read this for the first time (and cried again last week when Eric read it out loud to our group because he choked up - I knew he was thinking of his Papa and Nanny):

Think of friends of family members who loved Jesus and are with him now. Picture them with you, walking together in this place. All of you have powerful bodies, stronger than those of an Olympic decathlete. You are laughing, playing, talking, and reminiscing. You reach up to a tree to pick an apple or orange. You take a bite. It’s so sweet that it’s startling. You’ve never tasted anything so good. Now you see someone coming toward you. It’s Jesus, with a big smile on his face. You fall to your knees in worship. He pulls you up and embraces you [I have dreamed about this!] At last, you’re with the person you were made for, in the place you were made to be. Everywhere you go there will be new people and places to enjoy, new things to discover. What’s that you smell? A feast. A party’s ahead. And you’re invited. There’s exploration and work to be done - and you can’t wait to get started . . .”

But doesn’t the Bible say “no eye has seen, no ear has heard?” How can we know what’s ahead for us in heaven? Isn’t it wrong to make statements about some place where we have never been? I am conviced and agree with Alcorn - “No!” There is so much that God tells us about this wonderful place, and we can learn if we just take the time to study. This changes so much for me. It keeps me joyful, expectant, and confident. It gives me the assurance of my hope. This hope is with me - whether I’m lying down, changing a diaper, loving my family, or giving instruction. It spurs me on waaaay past legalism or apathy.

I’m so glad I found this book. It’s just what I needed to help me digest these thoughts about where this gal is going someday. I’m sure I’ll be writing about it more in the future - after all I’m only on page 93!