Heaven Will Not Disappoint

This week we feature one final chapter from The Promises of God ©1998 by Discipleship Publications International. This week’s post is an excerpt from a chapter written by Tom.

A lot of things don’t live up to our expectations. I remember a family vacation we took when I was a young teen. We had saved for months to go to a golfing paradise. Upon arrival our vision was dashed. The place was a dump. The hotel rooms were dirty. The golf course was worse. The fairways were as hard as rock and the greens were the worst we had ever seen. We played nine holes and asked for our money back. Heaven will not be like that. No one will be disappointed. 

Heaven will far exceed even our wildest expectations:

       “No eye has seen,

             no ear has heard,

        no mind has conceived

            what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

No analogy can really do it justice. No metaphor for it will ever be good enough. We cannot picture the greatness of the relationships with God and with our brothers and sisters, and loved ones who are in Jesus, that we will enjoy. What a tragedy for those who will miss it.

Occasionally I talk with people who have fears that heaven will be boring, but God’s creativity knows no bounds, and in heaven his creativity will be bursting out all over the place. This I am sure of: No one there will ever complain of boredom.  

We should continually be inspired by the thought of heaven. Peter had this goal when he wrote: “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:13).

Is it worth it to sacrifice and suffer for the kingdom of God? Is it worth it to say “No” to sin and to fight to live a life of purity and righteousness? Is it worth it to stay in the race when it would seem so much easier to quit? Is it worth it to give time and energy and tears to help others become Christians? Answer to all these: Just consider heaven—not just for yourself, but for others! “Your labor in the Lord,” Paul said, “is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).