Heaven. It’s the big selling point of our faith, the final destination of the Christian, our great reward. Many use heaven as a prize to entice the non-Christian to convert. We are always saying heaven is like this, heaven is like that. We seem to think we know so much about it. I’ve heard people say to kids, ‘Heaven is a place where you can eat as much ice-cream as you want’. Is that the best we can do? What if you are not so fussed about ice-cream? I’ve also heard song leaders in church say things like, ‘You’d better get used to praising Him, heaven is going to be like this for eternity’. Please tell me it’s not so! A church service that lasts forever? ‘Amazing Grace’ is a grand old song and contains wonderful truth but there are only so many times you can sing that thing. ‘Ten thousand years’ may be a bit long. I’ve been to some inspiring services in my life but I have always been happy to go home to a comfy bed. Ahh.… that’s closer to heaven for me, a warm comfy bed. Now I’m doing it too! Comparing God’s glorious abode to four wooden posts, a mattress, and a blanket!
What is our reference point for heaven? How can we understand it? Come to think of it, we need one for God as well! Realising our need, God sent one to a place accessible to everyone, a lowly stable, in a form we could fully relate to - a human being. God didn’t just send a representative from heaven; He sent part of Himself - His own Son. Jesus wasn’t just in spirit form. He had a physical body you could see and touch. Christmas is our first reference point, our first close-up look at God. We knew He was mighty and powerful from the universe He made, but the first thing God showed us when Jesus arrived on earth was humility. Jesus swapped His infinite power for that of a helpless baby and the glory of heaven for a feeding trough. Never will you find a greater act of humility. God dressed Himself in humanity.
Jesus’ parables used reference points we could relate to so we could understand His love and His Kingdom. Jesus didn’t just talk about the Kingdom of God, He lived it. He healed people, He protected people, He fed people, He saved people. Jesus gave us physical reference points of God’s love. But still, Jesus did those things for other people. I wasn’t in the crowd Jesus fed in Matthew 14 or one of the 10 lepers He healed. This probably sounds selfish but where is my reference point? How do I know God loves me?
Of all the things Jesus did when He was on earth, one stands above everything else, outside of time, and touches you right where you are. It is Calvary. God planted a rough wooden cross in the ground to stand forever as a personal reference point of His love for you. How do I know it was for you? Some people say He had you on His mind when He was on the cross. I don’t know, maybe He did - all things are possible. But what I do know is when He died He again gained access to eternity, throwing off the bounds of time and space. It was there in eternity He found you and your sin. When people say ‘He died for you personally’ it is the truth, not a sentimental Christian cliché. The cross did not get trapped in time 2,000 years ago; it’s ever present to cover sin. The depth of God’s love displayed in the Cross of Christ is beyond what our mortal mind can fully appreciate.
What is God like? Look at Jesus. When you see Him you see the Father. What’s our reference point for heaven? It’s a lot better than ice-cream and comfy beds, it’s the love of God. Want to tell someone what heaven is like? Then tell them about the love of God. Show someone the love of God and you will find they want to go there. God has given us the cross as a reference point for His love. But what about those who don’t know about the cross? What has God given them? The Bible tells me the only reference point of God’s love for them, is you. Be a reference point for the love of God because the love of God is heaven on earth.
(First published in ‘New Life’, March 2004)