First, Heaven is a place of indescribable beauty
and glory. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 2:9, "Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither have entered into the heart of man [or crossed man's mind], the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
Wait a minute. The Bible says it has never crossed man's mind;
there is no way to imagine the indescribable beauty of Heaven! I suggest you
read Revelation 21 and 22, and when you finish, you will have only a little
glimpse of Heaven.
One night a young boy was walking with his grandfather. It was a
beautiful night. The sky was blue, and it seemed like a million stars were on
parade. The little boy pulled at his grandfather's coattail and said, "Grandpa,
Grandpa, if Heaven is so beautiful on the outside, what must the inside look
like!"
The songwriter was correct when he wrote:
How beautiful
Heaven must be,
Sweet home of the happy and free.
Heaven is place of
indescribable beauty and glory.
But Heaven, too, is a place of perfect rest. The Bible says in
Revelation 14:13, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth:
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do
follow them."
Most people here never know what is to experience complete and
perfect rest, with no worries, no schedules to meet, no time clocks to punch,
and no alarm clocks to wake you early in the morning.
When my mother died I was on soul-winning visitation. Some friends
found me and told me that Mother had passed away. Hurrying home I entered the
bedroom where Mother had been for several weeks due to illness. And there on the
bed lay my mother's body. When I looked at her my first impression was, "Mother,
this is the first time in my life I've seen you so relaxed." She always had a
burden of some kind to carry; now the she was resting from her labors. The
burdens were gone.
Heaven is a place of indescribable beauty. It is a place of perfect
rest. But Heaven, too, is a place of open vision.
There are so many things I cannot explain here.
I remember a young couple with three children. I was called to
conduct the funeral of one of those little children. A moths later the second
child died. And in less that a year the third child died. They had unrelated
diseases. It was an unusual thing, and I never had an experience like it. As we
walked away from the grave of their last child the mother wept and said,
"Explain to me why this happened; why did God take every child we had while
other families never lose a child?"
Friends, I could not explain it, because I cannot see the end from
the beginning. But God knows. Romans 8:28 is true. It is the Word of God. It is
a fact. "All things [DO] work together for good to them that love God."
I said to that young couple, "You may not always be able to trace
God, but you can always trust Him."
My Father's way may
twist and turn,
My heart may throb and ache;
But in my soul, I'm glad I know
He maketh no mistake.
God knows what He is
doing. I cannot explain everything now. I cannot see as God sees. But in Heaven
I'll know. Heaven is a place of open vision, with no glass between and there I
will understand it all. First Corinthians 13:12 says, "Now we see through a
glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know
even as also I am known."
I read the story of a young boy in England who, due to his father's
death, had to drop out of school and go work to make a living for his family. He
was only ten or eleven years old. He sold papers to help his mother provide for
other family members.
Each day after selling his papers, he stopped at a toy store on his
way home to look at some beautifully painted toy soldiers in the window. The
storekeeper had noticed this.
Then one day he missed the boy. He inquired of those in the street,
"has anyone seen the little paper boy who used to stop and look at the toy
soldiers?"
Someone said, "Oh, haven't you heard? He was hit by an automobile
the other day, and he is in the hospital unconscious."
The storekeeper was moved: he gathered up the little toy soldiers
and took them to the hospital. He told the boy's mother how the boy had looked
wishfully at the soldiers everyday and then he asked permission to give them to
him. The boy was unconscious, so the man placed the beautiful, little soldiers
across the foot of the bed. They stayed there several days.
One morning when the boy regained consciousness, the first thing he
saw was the toy soldiers. He could hardly believe his eyes. He began moving
forward. Reaching with his little hands to touch the soldiers, getting closer
and closer, until finally the soldiers were in his hands. With a smile he
exclaimed, "Oh, look, Mother! Look! Here are the soldiers, and there is no glass
between!"
End of Chapter Two
