Heaven

Our small group started a new study last night about heaven. It's from the Convergence DVD series hosted by Donald Miller, featuring insights from Randy Alcorn. Very interesting stuff and it sparked some good conversation. We spent a decent amount of time discussing what we thought heaven will be like, especially in light of Alcorn's assertion of it being a physical place in the "new heaven and new earth" as laid out in Revelation 21 and 2 Peter 3. Some of the discussion was light hearted along the lines of "will there be dogs there" and "will there be golf there" and others delved into issues of identity with the physical resurrection and whether we would even recognize each other.

The thing that I've been thinking through since last night is how quickly our thoughts turn to our comfort and our benefits when we discuss heaven. "What will I do? Will I see my loved ones? Will I get to ride a bike?" (that last one's for me). Since the hope of heaven is one of the greatest things that God has given us, I think He actually enjoys it when we dream about those kind of things. I think it's somewhat like when my kids start talking about their expectations for their birthday or Christmas. It's fun to hear about what they hope to receive when the day arrives, knowing some of what is in store for them. Most of the questions issued in the study sort of directed us to these types of topics.

As I've reflected more, I find myself praying that as we continue to explore this topic, that our hearts will become consumed less with our benefit and more with His glory. The glory of God far surpasses anything that we could hope for in this life or the life to come. As much as I enjoy thinking about joyous reunions, long awaited conversations and finally having a body mass index that meets the expectations of my WiiFit program, I believe we will be so overwhelmed and captivated by the glory and love of God that these will seem like trivial desires. I think God will still allow us the enjoyment and benefit of those things, but that we won't want them nearly as much when we begin to drown in the sea of His glory.

I'm definitely looking forward to further conversation and seeing how my thinking is shaped over the course of this study.