“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:4

Those of you who know me, know that my license plate and my life’s motto is LIV4HVN or live for heaven.  Lately, though, I’ve been thinking about what makes heaven, well….. heaven.  If I am going to live for heaven, I better know what I’m living for don’t you think?  

What comes to your mind when you think of heaven? A place absent of sorrow- where pain is a thing of the past and has no place in the present or the future. Mansions that make Martha Stewart’s place seem like a dumpster dive. Gates of Pearl. Holding tightly to family and friends that have gone on before us. Streets made of gold. Chatting with Paul and Peter. Delicious food in abundance- without weight gain or high cholesterol. A mind at peace. A new body with the ability to do things that were taken away from you on Earth (for me it would be talking, singing, eating, kissing loved ones). A place with no more night. Oh just thinking of all of this makes me happy… but I don’t think this is what heaven IS. I think these things are descriptive words of the actual place. I’ve come to the conclusion that heaven IS the presence of Jesus.

You see my friend, without the Giver of Joy there could be no absence of sorrow. Without the Light of Life the darkness cannot be overshadowed. Without Someone to praise there can be no heavenly worship. Without the Bread of Life, no other substance would satisfy. Glassy seas would only reflect the tempest brewing if the Storm Stopper were not present. A new body would be just an empty shell if the Giver of Life were not there to fill us with purpose and meaning. Jesus is what makes heaven heavenly. Being able to stare into the eyes of the One who gave up everything to save us is what will bring the joy. Falling at those nail scarred feet and worshiping with all that is in us is what will make us know we are home. What a day that will be!

Do we have to wait until heaven, however, to enjoy its benefits.  If heaven is the presence of Jesus, then we have heaven here with us on Earth- for He promised, “behold I am with you always, even until the end of the age.”  Matt 28:20.  Now you may be saying, “look Jessica, I don’t know what your circumstances are like but mine are anything but heavenly.”  My body is racked with pain, my husband left me for another woman, my boss just fired me and now how am I going to provide for my family?  I clean dishes and fold laundry and homeschool until my mind is about to explode.  I just lost the person I loved most in this world to a horrible illness. My house has so many repairs that need to be done that I can’t keep up.  My son is rebelling. …”  and on and on the list may go.   I think of the persecuted brothers and sisters across the globe who are put in “hellish” circumstances.  Some are thrown in prisons that make American prisons look like the Hilton Hotel.  Others are beaten so badly that they barely escape with their lives.  Husbands are killed and women widowed at a young age.  Some young ladies are forced to marry non-christian men and they are abused every day.    Sounds like Hell on Earth doesn’t it?  But if you ask these saints, they would say they were privileged to suffer for Christ.  Why- because they live with the joy of heaven in their hearts.  Jesus is their life.  They can have glimpses of heaven in their hells because Jesus is there with them.  On the other hand you can have people who have “heavenly” circumstances here on Earth but are living with “hellish” hopelessness.  They have the cars, the women, the high paying jobs, the fancy houses, the thousands of Facebook followers, the esteem of everyone around them and yet they live with empty hearts.  Why?  Because Jesus is not with them in their “happy circumstances.”

So my friend, when I say I’m living for heaven, what I am declaring is that I’m living for Jesus.  Jesus is my life. He is my hope. He is my joy.  He is my Best Friend. He is my Savior, He is my reason to live.  Without Jesus heaven would be hell, but with Jesus even our hellish circumstances are glimpses of heaven if He is carrying us.

Choose to live for heaven today so that eternity will just be a continuation of the walk you were taking with Jesus.