Our church building on the hill is still relatively new; we finished it just a few years ago. But there is one tiny thing in it that could be considered a flaw, until you know the reason behind it.
On one of the beautiful walls of our auditorium, there is a dot. Of all things, it was made by a black permanent marker. It is not big at all. In fact, unless you were looking for it, you would never see it. Nevertheless it is there, and it is very important to me and to the members of my church.
Pastor Bo WagnerI know what you are probably thinking. "Typical. Some rowdy child is defacing a church. The kid probably writes in the hymnbooks, too."
But that dot was not put there by some disrespectful child. In fact, I did it. Not by accident, either; I did it quite intentionally. I put it there a couple of years ago, right after a very precious young man from our church died in a tragic accident. I put it there to make a point to my grieving church, something that would help them. I hope for anyone reading this, who is grieving the loss of a saved loved one, the story of the dot might just help.
When we think of heaven, if we are honest, our minds may hold some reservations about that place. All that we have ever really known is the here and now. The here and now is like the tiny dot on that wall. When I put my nose an inch away from that dot, my eyes cross to focus on it, and it becomes all that I see. I cannot see the chandeliers or the carpet or the padded chairs or the nice woodwork; all I can see is a dot.
If I had stared at that dot my entire life, I would be very used to it and very comfortable with it. Anything outside of that dot would be unfamiliar to me, and therefore a bit scary.
But for those who do not have their noses an inch away from that dot, for those seated in the middle of the sanctuary, there is a whole new world to see - bigger, brighter, nicer in every way.
The Bible is our window to looking outside of the dot that is the here and now. And when we open that window to look, what do we find?
This place the Bible calls heaven is truly amazing. We find that it has a capital city, the New Jerusalem, that is 1,500 miles long, across and high. This city is so remarkable, Revelation 21:10 tells us that it can travel through the air.
We also find that this city is incredibly colorful, having 12 foundations, each one made of a solid slab of different precious stones. We find that each of the 12 gates are made of a single, giant pearl. We find streets of translucent gold. We find the most amazing river, big enough to qualify as a running ocean. We find food to eat, some coming off of the tree of life, other kinds being served to us by Jesus Himself. We find light, yet no shadows. The light comes from Jesus himself and permeates the entire place.
We find in John 14 that the dwelling places in heaven are "many mansions." We also find that, perhaps most comforting of all, we will still know each other! In Matthew 17:3, thousands of years into their eternity, Moses and Elijah were still clearly recognizable as themselves. If you ever wondered if you would know the people that you are deeply missing right now, the clear answer is "Yes!"
We also find that we will not be bored. Truthfully, this seems to be the one thing people fear the most. Yet in heaven, people are shown to be far more active that we are now here on Earth. In the Bible we see individuals serving, reigning, praising, traveling, singing, eating and many other things. There is an entire universe out there, and we will have eternity to explore it.
Boredom is an "Earth thing," not a "heaven thing."
We also find from Scripture that nothing negative will be in that place. No more hurting, sinning, fearing and finally no more tears. But what will be there is God himself. The one that we have seen by faith, we will spend eternity seeing by sight.
When you think of heaven, pull away from the dot and think big.
And may I give you one other tip? Never be afraid to pray and say, "Lord, would you mind telling [fill in the blank] that I miss him and love him? Would you mind telling [fill in the blank] that I miss her and love her? The God of heaven is never too overwhelmed to deliver messages, and I guarantee you not a one will be misplaced along the way.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at www.wordofhismouth.com. Email at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.