For a day in Your courts isbetter than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

  - Psalm 84.10

It may be that you will have passed on to heaven before you really appreciate its full value. Better therefore that you suffer its loss that it may benefit another.

  - The Rule of Ciarán, Irish, 8th century[1]

Belief in heaven has declined over the last generation among Americans. It used to be you could entice people to believe the Gospel with the promise that, if they did, they would go to heaven when they died. Today, most Americans scoff at the idea of heaven, or at least, don’t value it very much. They want their heaven on earth, right now, as much as possible, and on their own terms. They don’t want to think about dying, and are mostly persuaded that nothing of any real consequence awaits them beyond the grave.

But the value of heaven has also dipped among the followers of Christ. Contemporary Christians don’t much appreciate the value of heaven. I have on occasion asked groups of believers to raise their hands if they want to go to heaven. They all do. Then I ask them to raise their hands if they want to go today. Almost no one does.

Now I’m sure some of those folks have good reasons for wanting to postpone heaven, but I suspect that, for not a few believers, going to heaven is just the lesser of two evils. Their view of heaven is such that it doesn’t offer much in the way of fun or excitement, beyond escaping the torments of hell. I mean, what’s to do there?

But that’s not really the point. It’s not what there is or isn’t to do in heaven. It’s not what’s there, but Who’s there, and what it’s like to be in His presence. For God is in heaven, enthroned in glory – the eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And concerning being where God is, the Scriptures teach, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Ps. 16.11).

Fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore. This is what comes from being in the presence of God. No other diversions are required. And whatever other activities heaven – and the new heavens and new earth – hold in store for us, none will eclipse or obscure the pleasure and joy we have from being in the presence of the Lord.

I wonder what it is about fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore that doesn’t appeal to us?

Celtic Christians were famous for valuing heaven. They practiced living in the there and then, here and now. They regarded themselves as on a journey to eternal life with God, but they understood that the reality of that ultimate destination was to be known and enjoyed, if only in part, in their daily lives. Celtic Christians nurtured and sustained a clear and compelling vision of unseen realities, spent long hours in the Lord’s presence in prayer, envisioned themselves traveling through the “Promised Land of the Saints” and returning to tell its glories – to the benefit and comfort of all who heard.

Which is why the writer of Ciarán’s rule suggested it would be better for someone who claimed to be a Christian but had no vision of or communion with the heavenly realm to abandon the faith, rather than discourage others by his lack of excitement, vision, and joyous anticipation of the world to come.

People with no taste for heaven now will have no place in it then. And if we don’t greatly value the promise and prospect of eternal life in the presence of God, we won’t be much use to those who are hungering for just a glimpse through a crack in the door of His eternal home.

Psalm 93.1, 2 (Trinity: Come, Thou Almighty King)
The Lord in majesty reigns, girded and clothed in strength!
Earth stands secure: Nor shall it e’er be moved;
God on His throne above set it in place with love –
His reign is sure!

Lord, give me a compelling vision of heaven, and lead me to know the joy of being in Your presence, here and now. 

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T. M. Moore
Principal
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All psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.