The Hope of Heaven

Today, we continue to turn our #HeartsTowardHeaven as we look at how the hope of heaven can lead us to be secure in Christ.

When I was 16, my dad, stepmom, and 3-year-old sister moved from the Midwest to Florida. No longer were we just a half-day’s car ride apart; we were now half a continent apart. It was a confusing time for me. As a child who grew up in two households always missing one parent, I felt like my dad was no longer the safety net I needed, too far away to come and rescue me from the major squabbles in my mom’s house or the mild teenage drama I would sometimes succumb to.

Around this same time period, God was also starting to take hold of my heart. I had grown up hearing so many mixed messages about Him, from Muslim perspectives to watered-down Christianity. By His grace, I had accepted His gift of salvation years back, and He was calling me into a deeper relationship with Him. But every time He called me to something higher and better than where I was currently residing, I would slip back down into the same old rut of confusion.

You see, I didn’t have a clear memory of receiving Christ as my Savior. No one had ever written the date down in my Bible, I didn’t have a “spiritual birthday” like friends at church, and at times I simply didn’t “feel saved.” As long as I questioned my own salvation, my spiritual growth was practically impossible. At one point, I was praying every night that if I hadn’t truly meant the prayer from the night before God would surely recognize my sincerity that night in hopes that I would feel the transformation from lost to found.

Am I Saved?

One evening, when I was visiting my dad in Florida that first summer, I was reading my Bible. I had no church to go to down there, no youth group to attend, no Christian friends to talk with or mentors to ask questions. I was so tired of carrying this burdening question of, “Am I saved?” Then, God led me to this passage:

Somehow, this was the verse that God used to speak to my heart. The passage goes on to say that we don’t even know our own thoughts completely, only the Spirit does, and it is He who helps us understand the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). When I wrestled with these truths in my flesh, I fell on my face again and again. But when I allowed the Spirit to speak to my heart, I understood that, on my own, spiritual truths are too great for me to grasp and ultimately rest securely in. “…No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined…”

I could spend all of the rest of my days here on earth trying to wrap my mind around the wonders of heaven and not even come close. It is too glorious and infinite a thing to be contained by my finite and fallen mind. Praise God! I would not want to place my hope in a thing of my own making. The eternal life with God in heaven that I look forward to is a place of beauty and truth, with the glory of God Himself as its light (Revelation 21:23). I will never tire of it; it will never become dull or commonplace or a chore to be in God’s presence forever.

The Epic Story

So, if heaven is beyond my comprehension, then, too, is salvation outside of the realm of my understanding. Yes, even a small child can come to Jesus in faith and become a son or a daughter of God. But the mercy and grace extended to me at the cross will always be a mind-blowing gift. The truth that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, equal with God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, died a horrible death on the cross for my sins and was raised again three days later so I could have new life in Him is a truth that is too great for me. It is an epic story that, when I slow down, sit, and meditate on, like I am doing right now, drives me to my knees in worship.

That night, I praised God for the redeeming work of His Son. I acknowledged all my doubts and said, “From this moment forward, I confess Jesus as my Savior. I recognize that His work on the cross was for me. When I actually crossed the threshold from death into life has no bearing. Today, I recognize the truth and accept that it is for me.” 

“…Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2b).

All along, I had been trying so, so hard to walk by sight. I prayed harder and tried to squeeze more sincerity into everything I did. Little did I know, I was carrying a burden Jesus had already willingly accepted on my behalf (Matthew 11:29-30). Yes, following Jesus is not always easy (Matthew 16:24-25; 1 Peter 2:20-21), but striving to walk through life in my own strength and wisdom is infinitely harder. My eternal hope–my confident expectation–is in Christ Jesus, the sure and steady Anchor of my soul (Colossians 1:5; Hebrews 6:18-19). Be of good courage. Trust in the Good Shepherd. He has led us to the cross, and He will surely lead us home.

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.” –2 Corinthians 5:6-9