Heaven - What Is It Like?

 Some time ago, I  assisted in the funeral for a close friend.  He was older by almost twenty years, and became my mentor more than thirty years ago.  He was a take-charge kind of guy and I always imagined him going out like John Wayne in The Shootist.  Consistent with his personality, he left specific instructions for his funeral, including the passage he wanted the pastor to preach and the three points he wanted him to make.  To his friends he wrote, “I want there to be more laughter than tears.  After all, I will be in Heaven.”

 I watched him age like I have watched others, the same process I am beginning to see in myself.  As he entered his eighties his strength and vigor began to slip.  The last time we went out to eat he needed a walker to make his way to the table.  Aging is an inescapable experience for all of us who live long.  But in the end, in the “twinkling of an eye … we shall all be changed.”  (1 Corinthians 15:52).

 When my mother was young she was a beauty and a fast runner who won ribbons in track meets.  But in her last years she was feeble and almost blind.  When she was 89 years old and dying, we talked about what it would be like when she woke up in Heaven, able once again to run through the meadow as she did in her youth.  Her body once again characterized by energy, strength, beauty and grace. 

 I have often thought about Heaven and what it might be like.  Someone once said that we might think of everything that is beautiful and good on this earth and multiply it by two.  That of course is a small number, but anything more defies imagination.  I like to think about the sun rising in the east, its light filtering through the leaves warming my face on a cool morning; the birds calling to one another as the day dawns; the scent of freshly cut grass and new turned earth; the fragrance of lilacs in spring and roses in summer; the laughter of children on the playground; the crack of a baseball bat and the smack of a ball in the glove; the weight of a sleeping baby in my arms.  On this earth and in this world, they are enough.  But multiplied by two, or a thousand?  Incomprehensible!

 Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, so that where I am, there you may be also.”  (John 14:3). “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” (John 11:25-26).

 The Bible says, “It does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2). “If we have been united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection.”  (Romans 6:5).

Teach Us To Pray

 In the Academy Award winning movie, Gravity, astronaut Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, has found her way aboard the Soyuz space craft.  The sole survivor of her mission, she is marooned in space without hope of survival.  Having lost radio contact with her command center, she scans the frequencies seeking someone with whom she might make contact.

 The only person she is able to reach is an Eskimo in the remote tundra who speaks no English.  But the sound of his dogs and the crying of his baby touch her emotions.  She cries. And she cries out in desperation to him, “Say a prayer for me. Maybe I should say a prayer for myself.  But I have never prayed.  No one ever taught me.” 

 How much does the character Ryan Stone represent the present generation?  The world seems to be spinning out of control. Evil is rampant.  Death is certain.  Will no one pray for us?  Will no one teach us to pray?  Centuries ago, another generation felt the same way.  Jesus’ disciples approached him with desperation in their voice and asked, “Lord, teach us to pray.”  And He did. 

 Jesus taught us that prayer does not need to be a memorized formula.  There are no words that are better than any others to address God.  Prayer is a matter of the heart. Jesus told of two men who once prayed. One was very religious and knew all the right words. The other had made a wreck of his life. He was irreligious and broken-hearted about his sin. The first prayed long and eloquent prayers that everyone could hear.  The second, feeling unworthy to lift his eyes to Heaven prayed, “Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus said the prayer of the second man was the prayer God heard.

 When we pray with a broken and contrite heart, God hears.

 Chuck Colson, special counsel to President Richard Nixon from 1969-1973, earned the reputation as Nixon’s “hatchet man.”  If there was anything cruel and dirty that needed doing, Colson could do it.  At the pinnacle of power, Colson was convicted for his Watergate crimes and sent to prison. His world crumbling around him, he sat alone in his parked car and cried out to God.  He didn’t know how to pray. He just knew he needed God to save him. 

 God answered Colson’s prayers.  When he emerged from prison, he was a changed man.  God used him to launch Prison Fellowship and later, Prison Fellowship International.  He spent the rest of his life proclaiming the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.

 It is never too late to pray.  It is never too late to believe.  Our problems are never too many or too big for God. When we pray our Father who is in Heaven will hear our prayer and will reward us openly. (Matthew 6:5-8).

God of All Comfort

 Six years ago, two weeks before Christmas, our daughter-in-law was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer.  Her children were all still at home.  She endured the chemo treatments with courage, determination, optimism and faith. Her family and friends gathered around her with encouragement, support, and love. Her faith and marriage with our son grew deeper and stronger. 

 After achieving remission, she returned to work, and, as our grandchildren left for college, she returned to school.  In May of last year, she graduated with a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree.  But, again, shortly before the holidays, the cancer was back.  She opted for a double mastectomy and underwent surgery two days after our family gathered to celebrate Christmas. Knowing that there are many who are entering this new year facing personal challenges, I thought you would appreciate, as I do, what she wrote last week:

 “All is good. Except for that evening call from the oncology surgeon. Plans are derailed, and emotions are high because now it is back to battle. Plans are different this time, previous options are not acceptable; double mastectomy surgery planned in 2024 so that the holidays with family won’t be disrupted. The family! How to tell them that the silent nagging worry was real again?

 Internal reserves are just not available to care for the emotional needs of others. It all feels like too much, even to answer a text or leave the house. This time it will be a quiet battle. It is hard, but with prayer and support it is going to be okay. Attempts at normalcy: meaningful work, a long-planned trip to paradise with loved ones, and preparations for precious family time. My grandfather, the family patriarch, hero of so many over his 103 years of life, passes away leaving an emptiness felt by all.

 Then the call that the battle will begin December 19th. That gives less than a week to completely rearrange life yet again! Now the battle must be shared with others so that life can move forward with additional support. The love and acceptance, willingness to accommodate unexpected needs, complete assurance that worries from home would be attended to without a second thought lifts and humbles. Holidays are celebrated early and joyfully cherished. Everything is okay.

 Weakness and new battle scars received. Rest and recovery are all that can be done now. Wheeling down the halls of the battleground, looking into the eyes of those just inducted into the battle, praying for peace as they learn their battle plans. Seeing those already in the battle, praying for comfort and strength as they endure the daily trauma. Searching the faces of those with shared battle scars, praying for hope and health. The atrium is just ahead, and glorious sunshine is pouring in. Eyes closed, face lifted to the light like a sunflower, kaleidoscopic shapes of yellow and orange dance beneath eyelids while warming rays saturate skin. A wave of peace and assurance that God is in complete control washes over this space. All is well!”

 As I read these words from my daughter-in-law I thought of 2 Corinthians 1:3-4,  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in ^]any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Back to the Moon?

 On January 8 the first lunar rocket since 1972 was launched from the United States at Cape Canaveral, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.  It is an unmanned, robotic, mission. Only the US has ever landed a man on the moon and that was over 50 years ago. This could be the year we return.  NASA hopes to launch the first manned mission to the moon in November and hopes not just to visit, but to live there by the end of the decade. China hopes to have humans living on the moon by 2040.

 I remember those first manned missions, launched long before personal PCs, smart phones and the internet were thought of.   By today’s standards that world looks archaic. But the accomplishments by NASA and a group of astronauts with the “right stuff” is still impressive.

 My wife and I married on December 21, 1968, the day Apollo 8 was launched to carry the first men to orbit the moon.  They reached the moon 3 days later. On Christmas Eve, just before they disappeared to the other side of the moon and lost radio contact with the earth, Borman and his crew read the Genesis account of creation.  (Genesis 1:1-10).  In the distance the earth appeared as a fragile planet on the moon’s horizon. Six and ½ months later we sat in front of our black and white TV and watched Neil Armstrong leap from the last rung of the lander to take “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”  On board the lander, while they waited, Buzz Aldrin observed Christian communion.

 James Irwin served as the commander and pilot for the lunar lander on Apollo 15.  He became the 8^th astronaut to step foot on the moon.  After his return Irwin founded the High Flight Foundation as a non-denominational evangelical organization based in Colorado Springs.  He said, “Some people make light of it and ask. ‘How can a technical person, an astronaut, believe in the Bible?’  I guess I also was a skeptic in my early days, but I have come to believe what the Bible says as being true.” 

 The last man to walk on the moon was Gene Cernan, commander of Apollo 17 in December 1972.  As he departed the moon he said, “We leave as we came, and God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”  Cernan later described his experience. “I felt the world was just too beautiful to have happened by accident.  There has to be something bigger than you and bigger than me. … There has to be a Creator of the universe ... .”

 I do not doubt that God welcomes us to explore His universe, to experience the majesty and mystery of  the moon and beyond.  But, when we do, it is important that we do so with the humility and faith demonstrated by these men who accomplished what no one has been able to do since.

 The Scripture says, “When I ^[c]consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which You have set in place;  what is man that You think of him,
and a son of man that You are concerned about him?  Yet You have made him a little lower than God, and You crown him with glory and majesty!  You have him rule over the works of Your hands; You have put everything under his feet, ... Lord, our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth!” (Psalm 8:3-9).

2024 New Beginnings

 We have officially celebrated the beginning of a new year. Thousands made the trek to New York to watch the ball drop at Times Square.  Others went to Pasadena for the Rose Parade and the thrilling playoff game between Alabama and Michigan while the Longhorns and the Huskies fought it out in New Orleans. Most of us gathered with family and friends to welcome 2024 with hugs and kisses. It is time to look forward. To engage the year to come. If our minds are open to new things, and our hearts are open to God, 2024 can be the start of something special, a new beginning!

 New beginnings are always exciting: weddings with candles and flowers, beautiful bridesmaids, handsome groomsmen, laughter, toasts and dancing; the birth of a baby wrapped in blankets, showered with gifts; graduations with speeches about dreams and possibilities followed by posed photos that will hang on living room walls; a new job; a new home.  Starting anew stirs our imagination. 

New beginnings are filled with excitement, optimism, and hope as well as fear, doubt and worry.  Weddings are fun but making a marriage can be hard work.  Babies are cute, but raising a child can be difficult. Graduation marks a significant achievement, but finding a job and advancing in a chosen career can be daunting.

 We cannot predict our future.  Not all newlyweds who leave the marriage altar showered with rice, petals and birdseed will experience a life-long relationship of love and fulfillment.  Not all babies will grow to maturity.  Not all graduates will find career positions for which they prepared.  But we are all called to something new, something significant.                                                                                              

God always calls us forward into new beginnings.  He beckons us to leave the old and familiar to follow Him on a journey of discovery into places we have never been.  He encourages us to calm our fears and exchange our doubts for faith.  He challenges us to trust in Him for a better future and a better day.

 When God called Abraham, He called him from his familiar home to follow Him into a strange land.  God said, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you; and I will make you a great nation and I will bless you, and make your name great, and you shall be a blessing.” (Genesis 12:1-2).   Abraham’s step of faith to follow God into a new beginning changed history.

 To Isaiah, God said, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” (Isa. 43:18-19).   Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone. The new has come.” 2 Cor. 5:17).

 My hope and my prayer for you is that 2024 will be the start of something new, something special.  May each of you be blessed, as Abraham was, and may God make you a blessing to others.