June 13th

What Happens When You Die?

Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.' And He said to me...I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.' Revelation 21:5-7

We all want to be in that number when the saints go marching in, but why? Obviously, we know that Heaven will be a better place than Hell, so we have our fire-insurance salvation. But I find that it brings much more purpose to our lives when we pursue something positive, rather than try to avoid something negative.

Living our lives just to avoid Hell leaves us confused, at best, and controlled by fear, at worst. However, when we put Heaven before our eyes, it begins to give us a goal, a target to aim for, a hope that keeps us focused through whatever we may be facing.

So what is Heaven like? Well, the Bible tells us quite a bit.

First, it's new. Everything is new there. There is nothing old. If you try to find something old, you will not succeed, because everything is new all the time!

Second, it is a place of pure, unending joy. God Himself will wipe away every tear, comfort every sorrow, and rid us of everything that could ever rob us of joy. Not only that, but we will always be in His presence-He will always be with us-and Psalm 16:11 tells us, In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Fullness of joy! Unabating, unfading, never ending, overflowing, more-than-we-canimagine joy! And pleasures-not rarely, not few, not sometimes-but forevermore! ForeverMore. Forever, pleasures will increase upon us more and more and more for all eternity.

Third, He will give us the fountain of the water of life whenever we're thirsty. Whatever longing we have in our eternal life, He will satisfy it. There is no longing we can have that will be denied. The answer will always be, Yes!

As if all this wasn't enough, God delights to give us more. In fact, He delights to give us everything-inherit all things. How much is all? Is anything left out of all? Those who overcome will inherit all things! And we will be called His son.

It simply does not get any better than this. God has given us a vision of Heaven. May it inspire you to live your earthly life in pursuit of your Heavenly one.

Prayer My Father,

Thank You for Heaven! You have given me such incredible promises of what Heaven will be like, I long for my life right now to be as much like that as it can be. Fill me with a vision of Heaven so that I will live for what lasts forever.

Amen