Will Heaven Be a Shock for You?
By: Gary Kurz
Now, before you misinterpret the question, I am not asking if you will be shocked if you make it to heaven. Rather, I am asking indirectly if you really know what heaven will be like.
You are a born again believer. You have placed your faith in Christ and know your eternity is secure. You enjoy this life, but inside, like most believers, you yearn for that moment when your soul will take flight for that heavenly shore. Most of us do not want our earthly life to hurry by, yet our souls thirst for the time when we shall bid the cares of this woeful world, our toils and our grief goodbye.
You have heard so much about heaven from preachers and your Sunday School Teacher, that you probably think you have heard it all. There is not much to tell after all right? It is a grand place where all the cares and problems of this life are left far behind, where your hopes of seeing loved ones again are to be fulfilled. Many promises are made in scripture concerning this wonderful place and every one of them is positive and uplifting.
But what if when you arrive, you find that heaven isn't at all what you expected? What if when you get there, you find that everything you imagined is not so? The truth is, most Christians are in for a very big surprise, perhaps even a shock, because heaven will not be at all what they expected. Let me prove my case.
If you ask the average person what heaven is like, invariably they will respond with "It is a place of happiness, of bliss and wonderful things to do", or words to that effect. Then, if queried further, they will elaborate on what they think it will take to make heaven a happy place for them.
One will imagine that they will be playing marathon golf, sporting an unearthly handicap. Another envisions endless championship fishing tournaments with them as the star. Still others imagine unlimited charge accounts that never have to be paid, with enormous malls that never run out of stock and never close.
It is human nature to create our own personal utopia in our minds. It is how we visualize and categorize our hopes. But human nature is exactly that part of us that God does not want in his heaven. Human nature is in contrast with God. It is referred to in scripture by many other names and all are seated in negative context. It is referred to as self, the flesh, the old man, the old nature, and the corruptible just to name a few.
Our old nature is our sinful part, the selfish, self-centered and self-serving part. It is shown as the cause of our sin and all the problems we and all the earth have. The sum of it is told to us in Romans where it is called "enmity (or hatred) against God". In other words, the only thing our flesh is capable of is hatred toward God. Why would God want that part of us that hates him with him for all eternity?
It is this human or earthly nature that imagines an individually customized heaven. It is our self-centeredness that dictates what it would take for heaven to be our personal utopia. And preachers like Billy Graham do not help with their “Whatever it takes in heaven for you to be happy is what God will do” mantra. Really?
Herein then is the surprise for many believers; that heaven will not be at all what they are expecting. Their flesh is deceiving them. Heaven will be what God wants it to be.
So then, what is heaven like? What does God have planned? The short and simple answer is "I don't know". We are not given much detail on God's plans for eternity, except that we will spend much time around his throne fellowshipping with and worshipping him. Indeed, if we could quantify the heavenly experience in terms of time, most of our time will be spent worshipping and praising the Lord.
Now, at the risk of shocking you further, let me say that I find the prospect of continuous worship quite boring. I do not mean to be irreverent to the Lord, for certainly he is deserving of my eternal praise. But somehow sports and fishing seem to resonate with my excitement sensor more than a perpetual church service.
Since we are all housed in the same sinful flesh, my guess is that you agree with me on this. If worshipping 24/7 was something that thrilled us, why do we not have church services here on earth every day? And why is it we look for just about any legitimate excuse to miss church? The answer is, our flesh. Constant worship is unappealing to our self-centered flesh.
But that is just "me" or my old nature talking. The best my old nature can imagine for heaven is to concede to God cursory time of praise and worship. The rest of the time, my old nature wants to horde for myself.
In my present condition, though regenerated and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, my old flesh still has a modicum of control and influence in my thinking. Consequently, I often think in terms of what "I" want and what will make "me" happy. And right now, in my flesh, if asked what I want heaven to be like, I can graduate that selfish attitude to quantify what it would take for ME to be happy for eternity.
Fortunately, we will not enter heaven with our fleshly expectations. In I Corinthians 15:53 we are told "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality". Right now, I am corruptible or corrupt, because of my flesh. But when this mortal shall put on immortality, or when this present life ends and I begin eternal life, I will also put on incorruption. Technically, incorruption is not so much put on as corruption is put off. Either way, I will be without my old nature.
When we accept the Lord, essentially our salvation comes in three phases. First, immediately upon confessing Christ, we are saved from the penalty of sin. Our sins are forgiven forever. There is no longer a penalty. The wages of sin were paid by the Lord Jesus and our account is paid in full.
Then, as we live our Christian experience on earth, we are saved from the power of sin. We are told that sin no longer has dominion (or control) over us. This is a quantitative term that means influence still is present, but not control. We have the Holy Spirit within us teaching, convicting and growing his fruit or attributes within us. He gives us the power to persevere over our temptations and to confess and forsake our sin.
Finally, when we pass or when the rapture occurs, we are saved from the presence of sin. This is huge. We depart this earth and sin is no longer a part of us. The old man, the flesh, the old nature is supernaturally extracted by God and put off. Self is no longer important. No longer do we think in terms of "me" and "I".
In this new state where self is no longer the center of our world, where sin has no presence, then our new man will soar and excel without the evil influence of our old flesh. Then worshipping God and praising his mighty works will be thrilling and exciting for us. We will hardly be able to contain the praise that pours from our lips as we fellowship with the one with whom we have to do. Golf and fishing will not even register on our "to do" list as all we will want to do is sit in the presence of our Lord, free from sin’s power and presence, overwhelmed with his majesty and wonder.
In short, now, in our yet sinful flesh, we consume upon our flesh the things that this world has to offer. But when we pass from this life, our sinful flesh stays behind, never to show itself in our eternal lives again. And the things we once enjoyed in the flesh will be repulsive to us as we will be incorruptible and like the Lord.
It is very difficult to accept all of this right now, because our flesh still influences our way of thinking. Try to imagine that you are in a room with a very vicious wolf. The wolf circles you, snarling and showing his teeth. You are understandably afraid and very, very uncomfortable. Your whole mind and body are focused on the presence of that wolf and what he might do. It is impossible for you to calm down. You are still in the situation.
All of a sudden a door opens and the wolf runs through the door and disappears as the door closes behind him. Instantly, you are safe and there is no threat. Your fear is gone. You are no longer uncomfortable. In an instant the way you were thinking changed for the better.
It is kind of like that when it comes to this corruption putting on incorruption. One minute our minds and bodies are focused on the things of the flesh, but then a door opens and we are whisked to safety from our flesh. Immediately our focus changes and we no longer are concerned about the flesh.
A poor illustration to be sure, but I think you get the idea. It is near impossible to think without the corruptible influence of this world and our own flesh, but one day, in an instant, the situation is going to change.
Yes, heaven will be a surprise for many, but it will be a pleasant surprise when we arrive there, without our old nature. It will be a time unparalleled in our previous existence, where we no longer are influenced by the selfish flesh that housed our soul for so long.