Meeting in the Meadow: Our Home

Our Home

by Roy Lessin

That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. 

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT

Jesus came to us from heaven, lived among us, and returned to heaven. Heaven is His home and it is ours. Jesus talked a lot about heaven and told us that He was going there to prepare a place for us, and what a place it must be!

One of the things that the Holy Spirit is working within the hearts of God’s people is the knowledge that heaven is greater than anything we have ever thought about or imagined. Reading books about heaven, looking at paintings about heaven, or even listening to stories about heaven don’t help us very much. These sources are much too limited to give us a full account.

The Bible mentions heaven many times, but it does not tell us a lot about the details of heaven. The Scripture passage in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 may explain why. It appears that the subject of heaven and what God has ahead for us is so big, so great, so awesome, and so overwhelmingly magnificent that God could only say, “If I painted it, your eye couldn’t grasp it all; if I told it, your ear couldn’t absorb it all; if I wrote it; your mind couldn’t imagine it all.”

Often, people who do not listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying, tend to minimize heaven. They think that life here on earth (based on what they have seen, heard, or imagined) is as good as it gets. Their concept of heaven is not very exciting, but rather dull, monotonous and boring; they know nothing of the language, the sounds, the sights, and the realities of heaven.

What is God saying to you in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10? He is saying, “Have you seen snow capped mountains, rushing rivers, white-sand beaches, rain forests, or redwood forests? Have you been to Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Niagara Falls, or Yellowstone? Have you toured the seven natural wonders of the world? Even if you have seen them all, they cannot begin to describe what your eyes will see in heaven. You will have to see it for yourself, for even if I used every word you can presently understand, or let your imagination explore its farthest boundaries, you would not grasp it. I have sent the Holy Spirit to let you in on some of my secrets; to let you know that it’s all true; to assure you that its better than you think; to fan the flame of your hope; to give you a foretaste of things to come; and to assure you that at my right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” 

“There is no need to be worried by facetious people who try to make the Christian hope of ‘Heaven’ ridiculous by saying they do not want ‘to spend eternity playing harps’. The answer to such people is that if they cannot understand books written for grown-ups, they should not talk about them.”
-C.S. Lewis.

© 2016 Roy Lessin, Meeting in the Meadow. Used with permission. Photo property of Marina Bromley, Marina's Kitchen Table. For reprint information, please email meadowrequests@gmail.com