Heaven

I'm doing a big funeral this Friday for a guy who went to our church and passed away on Saturday morning after a long battle with cancer.

Death always makes us think harder about eternity. And for the Christian, thinking about eternity should make us long for heaven.

What do you think about when you think about heaven? Most of the time when we talk about heaven, we talk about the streets of gold, the place Jesus is preparing for us, the loved ones we'll see there, or the fact that we'll all have hair and be able to hit a golf ball straight.

Here's a question to ponder today: If everything you believe about heaven was true, but Jesus was not there, would it still be heaven to you?

When Paul thought about dying, he didn't seem to get most excited about the end of persecution, the healing that would come to his body, or the fact that he would see his long lost buddies (though all those things are true). Paul seemed to get most excited about being present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8).

The greatest thing about my friend Dave's life at this moment isn't the healing that he has experienced. Those are great things, but they aren't the best things. The best thing about where he is, is that he's with Jesus, the author and perfecter of his faith (Hebrews 12:2).

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