The Half Has Not Been Told

It is crucial to think about heaven. Think about this, if we spend eternity there, all but a tiny, tiny speck of our entire existence will be spent there. Why do we get so wrapped up in this world when the time we will spend here is only a small blip on the radar compared to eternity?  Shouldn’t we think about heaven?

But there’s one thing we must know, even after reading what the Bible has to offer on describing heaven, I’m still convinced “the half has not been told.”  Heaven’s glories will still surpass even what God, with human words, has sought to tell us about it.  We will just have to plan to see it for ourselves.

It reminds me of the story when the Queen of Sheba visited Solomon in God’s nation of Israel.

Sheba Travel
No matter how long and difficult the journey was, the Queen of Sheba was determined to see God’s kingdom. How much more we should desire to make the journey to Heaven!

She traveled a thousand miles through desert territory to see Solomon’s kingdom.  Such a journey must have been hard, but is was certainly worth it.  Even more so, heaven will be worth the journey for us.  No matter what trials we face, we press through them all just to see the city.  “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God”  (Acts 14:22).

The queen was quite wealthy herself and yet God’s kingdom “took her breath away.”  The text says when saw it, “There was no more spirit in her” (1 Kings 10:5).  It was a place with unmatched wisdom found in its leader, a place of beauty and a place filled with wonderful riches.  When she saw the kingdom, she said, “I did not believe the words until I came and saw it with my own eyes, and indeed, the half was not told me.  Your wisdom and prosperity exceed the fame of which I heard” (1 Kings 10:7 – emphasis mine).

All the earth sought the presence of Solomon, who surpassed all the kings in riches and wisdom (1 Kings 10:23-24).  If that was people’s desire for Solomon, how much more so should we seek THE KING who gave him such riches.  Solomon would have been nothing without the Lord.

ShebaBeforeKing
Imagine the moment when the Queen of Sheba saw the king and the glories of his kingdom. Such a moment is coming for the Christian…in heaven.

The kingdom of Solomon was filled with gold, for silver “was accounted as nothing in the days of Solomon” (1 Kings 10:21).

Imagine it.  Silver was counted as NOTHING!  It reminds me of heaven where there is a street of gold (Rev. 21:21).  In fact, the city itself is pure gold (Rev. 21:18).  As we stated in a previous post, the place is surely fabulous when gold is the asphalt!  Eclipsing all of this is the glory of the One we most desire to see.  Our God.  King of Kings!

Why did Solomon enjoy all of this?  It was because God loved him and delighted in him (1 Kings 10:9).  But dear friend, the same can be done for you if you become a Christian and live your life for God.  God is ready to pour out all the riches of heaven upon you.  Read carefully these verses.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus”  (Ephesians 2:4-7, emphasis mine)

And what will your reaction be?  I’m pretty sure it will be something like, “This place exceeds everything I ever imagined.  The half was not told me.”  Heaven!!  Don’t miss it for the world.

– Jeff May

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The Saved and the Innocent: Making Heaven Brighter

fatherchildIt is hard to imagine a world so bright and glorious that even the sun and moon could add nothing to its illumination.  But there is such a world.  For Christians, it’s the world to come, and it’s called heaven.

As John saw the heavenly city, he described it as a place that “had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.  And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it” (Revelation 21:23-24).

There is something fascinating in that description.  God’s glory illuminates heaven.  There is no need of sun nor moon.  Yet, MORE glory and honor is brought into the city by those who inhabit it.  It’s as if, unable to be made more glorious by any physical source of light, heaven is somehow beautified by the light-filled beings who enter in.

Every human being who as ever lived will inhabit eternity…somewhere.  Those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus will dwell eternally in heaven (Revelation 5:9).  Other beings will be there as well.  Angels to be sure, but also innocent children.

When a husband and wife, through the providence of God, conceive a child in this world, an immortal soul has its inception.  If the child passes from this life in the womb, or anytime before adulthood, the Scriptures indicate that the child is safe and will enter the heavenly abode — “for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:13-14).

It is a painful and traumatic experience to lose a child; it is an experience that my wife and I have had, and that my parents also went through.  But there is comfort in the hope of being with the child in the world to come.  When King David’s infant son died, he said, “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23).

The desire of a loving parent to spend eternity with an innocent child who has passed on can be very powerful.  In fact, it can change the entire trajectory of a person’s life.  And ultimately, it changes heaven itself.  In the glorious light of God’s presence, the sweet presence of innocent children will surely make heaven all the more extraordinary.

May every adult who has been touched by the loss of a child be inspired to seek the comfort that the child as found in heaven.

 — Steve Klein

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