How Beautiful Heaven Must Be

We read of a place that’s called heaven,
It’s made for the pure and the free;
These truths in God’s Word He hath given,
How beautiful heaven must be.

Refrain:
How beautiful heaven must be,
Sweet home of the happy and free;
Fair haven of rest for the weary,
How beautiful heaven must be.

In heaven no drooping nor pining,
No wishing for elsewhere to be;
God’s light is forever there shining,
How beautiful heaven must be.

Pure waters of life there are flowing,
And all who will drink may be free;
Rare jewels of splendor are glowing,
How beautiful heaven must be.

The angels so sweetly are singing,
Up there by the beautiful sea;
Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing,
How beautiful heaven must be.

As I remembered the Cross and Christ’s crucifixion last week, and as I celebrated His resurrection on Sunday morning, I was reminded that the combination of those two events provided something of utmost value to all of us.  Not only did Jesus pay the debt for our sins and set us free from sin’s punishment, but He also provided through His resurrection a way to one day spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  Without His resurrection, we would have no hope of our own resurrection.  Without His resurrection, we would have no hope that our loved ones who have died will be resurrected.  But because of His resurrection, we have the hope of Heaven and the gift of eternal life.

Now, this trip to Heaven could come tonight.  Or Jesus could come back next week, or He may come after we have “fallen asleep” as Paul says in I Corinthians 15.  But the important thing for all of us to remember is that there is a beautiful place He has prepared for us and that beautiful place is called Heaven.  Jesus said in John 14 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”  We have, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise of Heaven and that is something worth getting excited about.

Couple of comments on the lyrics:

• “No drooping or pining” – To droop means to sag from weakness or exhaustion.  It also means to lose spirit or courage.  To pine means to agonize, desire, covet, and crave.  Our world seems to be filled with drooping and pining.  We struggle with weakness as our bodies grow older.  We are often times exhausted from the toil of work.  We can find ourselves being discouraged by the trials and tribulations of life.  We agonize over tragedy in our own lives.  We desire and covet material things.  We long for and crave for our circumstances to get better.  We seem to be in a constant state of drooping and pining.  But in Heaven those things can’t exist.  Heaven is a place of complete satisfaction and contentment.  There is no longing for tomorrow.  There is no longing for yesterday.  There is only complete joy and peace in the presence of God.  Wow, how beautiful that kind of place must be!!!

• “No wishing for elsewhere to be” – If you’re like me, I often times find myself wishing for elsewhere to be.  Although Tennessee is a pretty place to live, I watch the weather channel and think about how nice it would be at the beach, or in Hawaii, or in the mountains.  I am at work and long to be on vacation.  I am on vacation and long to be home.  The proverbial grass always seems to be greener on the other side of the fence.  But the author reminds us that we won’t be longing to be somewhere else when we go to Heaven.  We won’t be looking at our watch, or marking the days off on our calendars.  We will be completely and totally satisfied in the presence of the Lord.  Wow, how beautiful that kind of place must be!!!!

If you are like me, I often times watch the news or read the paper and get depressed.  The world is filled with so much sin that it seems impossible to read a paper without recognizing the effect of rampant sin in our world.  One might read about a murder on the front page or financial crisis at city hall.  You flip to the Metro section and are reminded in the Obituary section that life is short and you recognize that someone’s family has been impacted by the sting of death.  The business section details Wall street corruption.  The classified section reminds us of legal and foreclosure notices.  Even the sports page contains stories about the failings of sports heroes and their legal battles.  I turn to the comics for a laugh, but too many times I feel like the cartoon character “Droopy.”  Everything seemed to go from bad to worse for him, and he didn’t appear to be optimistic about anything.

But you know what the tragedies of this world should do for us?  They shouldn’t depress us.  They shouldn’t cause us to be “droopy.”  They should remind us that we weren’t created to live in such a sinful world.  God created man to be close to Him.  To walk with Him in the cool of the day.  To live in a perfect world and to worship Him.  God created, and sin has corrupted.  But as Christians, we should encourage one another with the truth that there is a better place.  That place contains no tears, no pain, no drooping, and no desiring of better days.  It is a perfect place.  It is a wonderful place.  It is, as the author of this hymn says, a beautiful place.

Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5 “He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”  I hope today that the words of this great hymn and the truth of Scripture will encourage you and remind you of a place that is too beautiful for us to even imagine.  A place that God has promised His children – you and me.  How beautiful Heaven must be!!!!!