One day, while talking to a friend, I tried to persuade him about how magnificent the idea of living forever is. I argued that just imagining the idea of never dying, fascinated me! After I cited several examples of why heaven is wonderful, he said simply: “I don’t want to go to heaven.” Were you shocked? I was. I asked him how that could be possible as heaven is such a wonderful place! So he began explaining his point of view. “None of the things I like will be in heaven,” he began. “There won’t be rock “n” roll, or dance, or my skateboard, or my friends!” In short, he said, “I don’t want to go to heaven; everything I like is here on earth.”
His statement really made me think! It was as if God was trying to tell me something through that conversation. A few days later, I was in another similar situation. I was telling my brother how I imagine technology would be in heaven. Once again, very excited, I was traveling in my imagination, when with a kind of sad look, he interrupted me and said: “I don’t want to go to heaven. There won’t be any cellphones there.” I managed to convince him and show him that there will be much better things than a cell phone, that, being there, he would have so much real entertainment that he wouldn’t even remember the internet.
After convincing my brother that there will be much better things in store in heaven, I started to reflect on whether my words were the fruits of my imagination, or if they came from my heart. I started to think about the things I love so much here on earth, and I realized that perhaps I was not so prepared to leave them. I felt ashamed for a moment, as Jesus longs for me to go to heaven and I am still attached to earthly things.
In Satan’s temptations it is his purpose to make the world very attractive. Through love of riches and worldly honor he has a bewitching power to gain the affections of even the professed Christian world.[…]It is the selfish love of the world which corrupts the faith of the professed followers of Christ and makes them weak in moral power.
Testimony Treasures vol. 1, 404-405
Most of us want to go to heaven, right? However, could it be that our hearts are completely secularized? That we are not in conformity with heaven? Ellen G. White comments in one of her books that if such people were taken to heaven, they would long to flee that holy place and happily accept destruction.
Take a moment to reflect on your life.
Is your love for heaven real?
If you had to live here on earth, just as we will live in heaven, would you be able to?
Do you long for heaven, miss it, or are you just curious about it?
If you were taken to heaven today, would you feel pleasure and joy or would you feel ashamed when looking at Christ? Would you be able to withstand the glory of God and the Lamb?
Would you be able to abandon, right now, everything that displeases Christ? Has anything in your daily life taken heaven out of focus?
I wish with all my heart that your answers have been affirmative, but if not, there is a wonderful grace that enables us to form a character for heaven.
Dear reader, our Loving Jesus is at the door. We are just a moment away from proving our love for Him. Don’t allow love for the world to reign in your heart. Don’t consent, even for an instant, that something which won’t be part of heaven becomes too important for you. May your thoughts be constantly on the things above. Pray, ceaselessly, that the love of heaven will be real in your life. Soon Christ will come for us, and it will be too late to learn to love heaven, love it today!
I wish that your heart may be filled with longing for heaven! ♥ ️
