For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain...My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.

   - Philippians 1.21, 23

...the end of a just man’s life is life eternal rest, perpetual peace, a heavenly home, a blessed eternity, a joy unending.

  - Columbanus, Sermon IX, Irish, 7th century

Here’s a little test you can run in your Bible study group: Ask all those who want to go to heaven when they die to raise their hands.

How many do you think you’ll get? Right. All of them.

Now ask them, How many want to go to heaven today?

Most of us don’t want heaven prematurely. Heaven is for when life is over; that is, we only really want eternal life when we’ve enjoyed a full life in the here and now. Heaven, for many believers, is a kind of concession to not being able to live on earth forever. We go to heaven when we die, but, given our ‘druthers, we might prefer to live forever in the here and now.

Most people have no idea of what “going to heaven when you die” means. At best, they think of heaven as streets of gold paved over endless clouds, interspersed with glorious buildings where somebody important lives. Most of us will spend our time in heaven lounging around in white robes, strumming harps, and singing praises, all the while somehow being convinced that this is as good as it gets.

No wonder few people want to go to heaven today. They want to live while they can, and when they die, since heaven is clearly the better of two options, they’ll prefer to end up there.

Maybe heaven is the kind of thing one acquires a taste for?

But heaven, rightly understood, is only an intermediate stop on the longer journey toward the new heavens and the new earth. And whatever we’ll be and be doing in heaven, Paul considered it preferable to continuing in this life. And Paul, it’s safe to say, knew rather more about such matters than you or I.

In heaven, we know, we will see the Lord face to face, and be like Him (Rev. 1:12-17; 1 Jn. 3.1-3). That doesn’t appeal?

David insists that, in the presence of the Lord – and especially in the uninterrupted, immediate presence of the Lord in heaven – are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (Ps. 16.11). Either we don’t understand that, don’t believe it, or don’t prefer it to whatever modicum of happiness and pleasures we know here and now.

And if that’s the case, then we’re just plain stupid.

Here’s the point: If we are ready to die at any moment, and to be released from this body into unspeakable, everlasting pleasures and joy, face to face with Jesus, unafraid, then we will not cherish this life so much that we might compromise our testimony just to prolong it. Instead, we might unclutter our present life of the trappings of this world in order to begin sampling the eternal realities of the Kingdom more fully and consistently in the here and now.

If you think of heaven as “second place” to staying alive forever, you might be tempted to do whatever is necessary to preserve the one, and, in the event, perhaps, lose the other.

But get ready to die, by gaining a fuller vision of the unseen realities that await you, and you’ll live every present moment to the fullest, come what may.

Psalm 84.1-4 (Holy Manna: “Brethren, We Have Met to Worship”)
Lord of hosts, how sweet Your dwelling; how my soul longs for Your courts!
Let my soul with joy keep telling of Your grace forever more.
Like a bird upon the altar, let my life to You belong.
Blest are they who never falter as they praise Your grace with song!

Lord, I believe in You, and in heaven; help my unbelief and let me see more clearly into the joys you have laid up for me with You.

There is more to learn and experience of the unseen things of Christ than we can ever know. And we can begin to know and experience these increasingly, every day. Our newest publication, Be Thou My Vision, is a four-week guided tour of the unseen realm, rooted in Scripture and your favorite Celtic Christian writers from the past. We will send you a copy of Be Thou My Vision for your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe in any amount. If you send $100 or more, we'll send you five copies, enough for you and your study group, family or some friends. Simply use the donate button above, or at the website, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 43135 Rudy Terrace, Leesburg, VA. Thank you for sharing with us in this ministry.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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