Revelation

Several years ago, I believe God began revealing to me what heaven will be like.  This worried me a little, because it seemed like, perhaps, He was trying to prepare me for something, to alleviate my fears that heaven was going to be dull, that it was a place I might like to go to eventually, but certainly not until after I finish everything I want to do here and am a very old woman. But that perspective has slowly changed and I have come to believe these truths:

1.  God lovingly and perfectly created this earth and, even in its broken state, it is still spectacular. So if God promised to make a new heaven and a new earth (which He has), a place that sin can never touch, it's going to be 1,000 times more amazing than anything we have here. It's okay if I don't get to see the Seven Wonders of the World or even the Grand Canyon; I'm going to have eternity to explore something even better. 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband...the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed...And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb...The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass.  The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,  the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. (Rev. 21)

2.  God worked and created humans to work.  Work was present in the Garden of Eden before mankind was created and before sin entered the world. It seems reasonable to think that work will be present in heaven - but work without futility, work that isn't drudgery, but is meaningful, creative, and important.
 
3.  I am going to have a breathtaking house in heaven.  Jesus said He's gone to prepare a place for us: "My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 19:2-3).  And did you know that we can save for our heavenly retirement??  Everything we give in the name of Jesus is stored up for us in heaven.  Once God revealed this to me, I started making deposits into my (heavenly) retirement account rather than storing everything away for an earthly retirement. The possessions I have here are just temporary, and my "retirement" here will end, but what I spend for heaven will last forever.  And surely there will be a heavenly version of Pinterest; I'm looking forward to doing some decorating!

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matt. 6:19-20).

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life (Matt. 19:28-29).

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:21).

4.  And best of all - God is going to come and live with us.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev. 21)

No more pain, no more tears, no more futile work.  All of this sounds a lot more appealing to me than the life I'm currently living. I don't want to catastrophize, but I also don't want to give the impression that just because I have faith everything is sunshine and roses. Things are hard right now. So when songs like the ones below are part of the worship at church, I sing with passion and tears in my eyes, tears that spill over when we get to the words: "Soon we will be coming home/When we arrive at eternity's shore/Where death is just a memory and tears are no more/We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring/Your bride will come together and we'll sing/You're beautiful."

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who You are
You're beautiful

I see You there hanging on a tree
You bled and then you died and then you rose again for me
Now You are sitting on Your heavenly throne
Soon we will be coming home
You're beautiful 

When we arrive at eternity's shore
Where death is just a memory and tears are no more
We'll enter in as the wedding bells ring
Your bride will come together and we'll sing
You're beautiful

And then this:

Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains 

Your love never fails, never gives up
Never runs out on me

It overwhelms and satisfies my soul
And I never, ever, have to be afraid
One thing remains

In death, in life, I’m confident and
covered by the power of Your great love
My debt is paid, there’s nothing that can
separate my heart from Your great love...

A hymn-writer of old asked God to "haste" the day when the faith shall be sight/the clouds be rolled back as a scroll/The trump shall resound and my Lord shall descend" and Paul said, "My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (Phil. 1:23). I may not desire death, but I am not afraid of it either. God has beautiful things planned for those who believe in Him.

This life is painful and we spend it searching for something more, but it's really only a moment and then real life begins, as C.S. Lewis wrote in The Last Battle (quoted above and following):  "It was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."