Too much Heaven?

*Photo story: Perth sky on a sunny afternoon after lunch fellowship with a sister

"The hope which is laid up for you in heaven." 
- Colossians 1:5

Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there.

Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker's brow, and fatigue shall be for ever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment for ever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan?

Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come. 

Having heard nothing from the hospital at the three-month mark of a confirmed surgery date, I quietly had a pity-party-for-one couple of weeks ago. I dwelled over the sad fact of living on Earth instead of Heaven. A physical, mmm... small thorn in the flesh unworthy of mention, crippled me to yearn for the perfect body in Heaven with great desires. My heart longed for the heavenly city filled with the 'glory of God', a place where I will be face to face with the Lamb of God Who loved me and sacrificed Himself so that I can enjoy His presence in heaven for eternity. Eternally comprehending the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of Christ. Eternally worshiping the Lord and serving Him.

And so for those weeks, I listened to the song 'No More Night' again and again. 

The timeless theme, Earth and Heaven will pass away.

It's not a dream, God will make all things new that day.

Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.

Evil is banished to eternal hell.

No more night. No more pain.

No more tears. Never crying again.

And praises to the great "I AM."

We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

Heaven is well a thousand times more beautiful than Earth! No child of God would disagree. A place of 'no mores' - No more night, no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more sea, no more curse, no more separation. No more inheritance from Adam, only to be made after the holiness of Christ.

Ian Paisley said in the sermon 'Heaven' that 'God's people should be continually meditating upon the subject of heaven'. Such is true and good for our spiritual growth to the extent that Charles Spurgeon said 'Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present.' Instead, 'Let the future sanctify the present to highest uses.' 

After reading the above devotion five times this morning I understand now where I went wrong. Too occupied with the wrong idea of Heaven as an easy way out of life, I forgot the purpose of my present covenantial duties to live for the glory of God. Instead of being spiritually paralysed - drowning in self-pity like I was... The hope of the next world should give me joy in the Lord which then becomes my strength to carry on in this earthly battle field!

Thank God I have heaven begun within my heart and I am going to reach that land all the while seeking to be a productive member of God's Kingdom.

The privilege of working for God in this life will soon be gone. May my focus be Christ alone and my energy spent in the pursuit of God and His glory :)