Saturday, April 28, 2012

Why Work for Heaven ... Its Rewards


by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com

What is Heaven like? 
Why would we look forward to building for Heaven
and put all our energies into that future instead our future on earth?

What makes Heaven so attractive,
so that we would want to spend our earthly time working for this reward,
more than the rewards and recognitions earth can bring?

Catching a Glimpse of Heaven by E. M. Bounds gives us a sneak preview.


Heaven is a place, according to E. M. Bounds. it's a tangible state with local inhabitants. It has a rare charm, a place of comfort and strength. Heaven has no tenants, everyone will be property owners. After our resurrection, we will have bodies made just for Heaven. The whole purpose of Jesus and His resurrection and people seeing Him in His new body, was to give us hope for our own resurrection. We will have bodies like Jesus and some say, we will be at our prime, our most appealing age... a Heavenly age. We will have houses to live in. When absent of our present earthly bodies, we have the assurance we will be at home with the Lord.

Heaven is stable, breath-takingly attractive, and enduring forever. Nothing
will wear out. All plants, flowers, streams will be fresh forever. With its matchless, exquisite beauty, it will always be incorruptible and undefiled. It is a kingdom. Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Heaven is His, a dwelling place and it receives its glory from the Father. Earth
cannot rival heaven. Heaven is filled with harmony, beauty and ecstasy. Earth is not safe, but Heaven is. On earth thieves steal, in Heaven no treasures are lost. The remarkable thing is we can lay up treasures for Heaven, and have them waiting for us when we get there. We will never lose those treasures.

Jesus emphasized Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is referred to over 40 times in Gospel of Matthew. Heaven is the Heart and Soul of  every being. There is absolute safety in heaven, with no tears, no illness, no aches and pains, no sorrows or heartbreaks, no losses to mourn.  Our earthly fears originate from the lack of knowing that our Heaven Father is constantly watching over us. He sees all we do, and, in Heaven, all rewards are guaranteed.  Heaven is where Jesus lives and He is preparing our special place to live with Him there. It is a real place and our Father lives there.

All sorrow, disappointments from the past will be forgotten. We will be so over-awed by the magnitude of Heaven, earth will seem so small. We will have a transfigured mind and memory, purified thought and love, a transfigured body shining like a noon-day sun on a warm spring day, our eternal inheritance. All things will become new, and will be new always.

Heaven is a city beyond this life with close union to God, Jesus and each other. It is full, strong, magnificent, glorious, perfect. It will be full of vigor, like a deep river, fresh, inexhaustible, wide and buoyant. God's power and love will be seen and felt continually. The tree of life there will give fresh fruit frequently. A flow of energy will never subside.
There is an absence of every form of evil and the presence of every form of good. The Heavenly home, a place of grand glory, is an unspeakable joy.


Victoria Boyson had this vision of Heaven. Just a few excerpts from her article.
Visit her bog site at:
http://www.boyson.org/


"The Lord told me He had something He wanted to show me - I took his hand and suddenly I was in the spirit atop a great hill in heaven. He was happy to be able show me His favored landscape and the hills of His home. It was all so breathtaking. You could stand in one spot and look for miles in all directions enjoying the beautiful hills. He was pleased with my delight.

Then, we walked down the hill toward a grove of large trees. To my surprise, He showed me a tunnel formed by the trees that had grown there. They had grown intertwining together to form a tunnel that almost blocked out the light. It seemed endless and although we did not walk the distance of it, He told me it went all the way to the other side of the valley we were in. 

As we exited the tunnel, I saw a small pond near the grove of trees. I asked the Lord if we could stop and look at the fish - there were very large gold fish that were absolutely beautiful. I asked if I could hold one and as He agreed, a large fish came up to where I stood at the edge and stared up at me as if it were offering itself to me like a kitten or dog wanting to be held. Picking it up, I pet its golden scales as it looked up at me.

The Lord was happy I enjoyed it so much.
It was this tremendous feeling of acceptance which seemed to overwhelm me. It was evident even in the animals, who had no fear. The people in heaven celebrated one another and each trusted in the knowledge they were not just tolerated, but were able to truly enjoy one another. Jesus was proud of this most of all - proud to show me the greatest treasure of His kingdom - love. And what a glorious treasure it is!"

Another interesting work is Heaven is for Real. It features a story of a child's experience in Heaven.  In it he says he met loved ones, a sister that died before birth and everyone was at their prime age and very attractive... everything there was at its best. He too said we knew what was going on in earth, and had influence there. Heaven is actively engaged with activities on earth. The Holy Spirit shoots power down on earth for circumstances as needed. This may very well be the great cloud of witnesses the Hebrew writer refers to... fight on for your great reward is guaranteed in Heaven. The Great Cloud of Witnesses who have gone before you are cheering you on.

Glory and bliss are all part of Heaven. It is not a boring place, but the ideal life of existence God has always meant for His creation. Live for Heaven... it is real and beautiful. The treasures you invest there will never lose value.