So, Heaven... what's it really like?

Citing it as a subject that 'thrills his heart', Paul Foster began his study on the Heavenly Home by turning to Luke chapter 10, where we read of Christ telling his disciples to rejoice that their names were written in Heaven.

Just as a sprinter, lining up to begin a race, keeps his eye solidly on the finish line. Regardless of how the race is progressing, whether we feel weak and tired, or positive and enthusiastic, we, as Believers, must continue looking towards the finish - setting our minds, our affections and our attention on Heaven.  

So what is Heaven? Firstly, it is a physical 'place' (John 14:2). It is real. It is a place where God's presence, His holiness and His splendour are revealed without measure or limitation.

Turning to Revelation 21, Paul then asked what is it like? If, as many believe, the passage outlines a physical city, then it is a perfect cube of 1,400 miles x 1,400 miles x 1,400 miles. In terms of the ground-surface area alone, that is greater than 23 times the surface area of the United Kingdom! Now add the 1,400 miles of vertical space... it is huge.

The walls in heaven are also explained - gems and precious stones of blue, yellow, green, red and pink. They are beautiful and they are big - the thickness of 17 Volkswagen Polo cars placed end-to-end.

There are some who believe that, rather than speaking of a literal city, the portion in Revelation 21 speaks figuratively of the church - the people of God, returning to earth with Christ. If this is the case, the chapter paints a wonderful picture of sheer quantity of people, from every nation on earth, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ and clothed in the majesty and beauty of the Lamb.

Heaven is a holy place, a holy city - a place absent from sin. Every day on this earth brings a measure of sadness as we witness the lying, cheating, bitterness, anger, lust and perversion all around us. We see jealousy, selfishness, God's name not being glorified, instead dragged through the gutters. We see our own temper, envy, lust and selfish desires. But there is no sin in Heaven. What a joy, what a thrill! God will banish all existence and appearance of sin from our lives, He will wipe every tear from eyes and will give us a song of joy.

But what will we do there? Television commercials would have us believe that lie around, relaxing in the clouds on some sort of never ending lunch-break. Yet in Scripture we read that Heaven is a place of activity. There will be the continual song of praise to the Lord, a multitude from every nation, standing before the throne of God - 'great and marvellous are thy works!'. Singing, not with the voice we have now, but with a perfect voice. Not praising the God we have not seen, but standing face-to-face with the one who has saved us by His blood, upheld us through the trials of life and comforted us with His infinite love. How we will sing!

We will sing, but we will also serve. Just like the good servants in the Bible, who received the 'well done' of God and told to enter into 'the joy of the Lord' - we will have fullness of joy in Heaven as we serve the Master forever.

And we will rest. From the beginning of time, God gave one day in seven to rest our bodies from the weariness of the week. This day was given as a token of what was to come - perfect rest in Christ. In Heaven we will enjoy the glorious benefits of rest forever. We will bask in the glory of His perfect holiness, and enjoy the restoration it brings.

Paul closed by reminding the young people that, just as Heaven is a real place and one to be sought for, so Hell is also very real. Not one of us knows what a day may bring forth, and so we must turn to Christ for salvation to secure our citizenship in the heavenly city. 

You only get to run one race. Where is your finish line?