What the Heaven????

I have been thinking about purpose. I have been thinking about the end for which we have been saved. The church doesn't talk about this much and I've been wondering why. I can think of 2 reasons:

#1 we don't fully believe it - It is true! The church as a whole (Josh Hawkins definitely included) walks at such a shallow level of emotional reality when it comes to the hope of our calling! If we had the tiniest taste of the joys we have been included in, the eternal ever expanding experience of love, beauty, and satisfaction that is NOW and will forever be our inheritance in Christ Jesus we would walk around emotionally overwhelmed every minute of every day, and the WHOLE EARTH would know!

#2 we don't understand it - If you asked the run of the mill Christian what Christianity is all about they would say something like this: "Jesus died for my sins so I don't have to go to Hell but I can go to Heaven." This answer is correct, and glorious, but it is only a tiny piece of the answer to the question asked. Most Christians are more excited about missing Hell than they are about gaining Heaven, and even WORSE, more excited about gaining Heaven than they are about gaining JESUS!! This isn't about missing hell-fire my friends and the tragedy of Hell is not the fire. The sorest pain of Hell is separation from God and the HIGHEST GLORY of Heaven is His unveiled presence and our ever expanding capacity to see, hear, feel, smell, taste and rejoice in His beauty forever and ever and ever and ever, and our calling as His Holy Bride to cooperate with Him in His purposes as He makes His glory manifest in and through us forever and ever!

We are not just saved sinners! We are more than conquerers! We are those who, by His grace, manifest His glory, His divine nature and power in the universe. We are called to be the first fruits of the resurrection and recreation of all of the universe. (All of this can be found in the book of Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3, Romans chapter 8 and elsewhere but it IS BIBLE)

We must get a grip on these eternal realities and let them change our hearts from boredom to fascination. We must learn to live our lives out of joy and glory because we understand the unbelievable truths of what Jesus did on the cross and in His resurrection!

Yes the Christian life can be hard sometimes, bad things happen, the devil is a powerful enemy, people get sick, get hurt, and die, but when we understand the TRUTH of what we have been given in this covenant of glory written in the very blood of the Son of God we must stand with the Apostle and declare, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." Rom 8:18 Amen