Pastor Mur reminds us a little about what Heaven is like.

Every once in a while I am asked to perform a funeral service. A funeral sermon typically includes three segments: a time to reminisce, a time to release and a time for resolution.

My custom is to talk about heaven as I transition from the release segment to the resolution phase. People are tender at funerals so my intent is to challenge them to seriously think about what is ahead. The choices they face and specifically, the choice of heaven or an ending where one is separated from God forever.

Image: Joe Beck

Heaven is far different from anything we have known or imagined here on earth. Everything flourishes in heaven; everything is whole there, and everything is filled with delight. Nothing can be added to what is in heaven except you.

I live in the city where I often hear sirens. There are no sirens in heaven. No emergencies. No fears. No need to rush. Life cannot be lost in heaven. No wounds, no accidents, nothing unexpected. There is no anger, stress or anxiety there. There are no crutches, wheel chairs, canes, braces, hospitals, operations, medicine, nor patient care there. No one gets old in heaven. There is no pain. You never hurt or feel out of sorts. You are never upset. You never get tired.

Worry does not exist. You cannot be concerned in heaven. No one loses their cool. Everyone is satisfied. Contentment reigns. Peace and joy span time eternal. Everything is perfect. Perfect forever since time is no more. There is no such thing as a bad day or even a bad moment. God has wiped away every tear. Joy abounds to the point where it is commonplace, but never common for God’s presence is joy unspeakable.

Heaven is so different from anything anyone on earth has ever experienced. It is a place where the first can be last, and not mind. Jealousy does not exist there. No competition, no winners, no losers. No copyrights, rights of any kind, or ownership of anything. Pride will not exist. Gratitude will abound.

In short, heaven is totally other than what we know or can imagine. It is far beyond our comprehension and understanding. I, like you, have had some great moments, times when total delight ruled for an hour, a day, a week or even longer. But even with those moments, there was always the chance that something could happen to ruin the great joy being experienced. There was always that exposure to humanity and our shortcomings.

There are no shortcomings in heaven. No surprises. No time or chance. Instead there is an ever unfolding of wonder layered on wonder that contains and restrains each and every soul in never ending awe. We will ever stand in awe of God and the splendor of his holiness.

There are no obligations in heaven. No rules. No agreements. You do not need rules when perfection reigns. No one is there who would ruin anything or disturb the complete perfect peace of God. There is nothing to be redeemed, repaired or fixed in heaven. There is nothing to be forgiven, no resentment or hurt to be harbored in one’s heart.

No one there does anything that they should not do. There is no temptation there. No insurance to buy. There are no risks there. You will not have to be careful in heaven because care for the other person is part of being there.

Scripture tells us that we shall be so overwhelmed with what God has prepared for us who are called by his name, that we will stop all activity and all thought to call God holy, holy, holy. We will fall on our faces as we cry those words, sealed with the beauty of his holiness, proclaiming to ourselves and to all that only He is worthy, worthy of all honor, glory and praise.

And most amazing of all is that anyone can go there. We have all been invited to what scripture describes as the marriage supper of the lamb. Come and dine! Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Think about heaven. What it really is. It is not a gaudy plastic place paved with streets of gold and glitz but a place with relationships, the best sense and presence, finer than the finest gold. Nothing compares with God. Imagine being able to meet your creator, and to know that you are welcome and belong.

How about you? Will you be there? If you are not sure, Jesus, the savior, is knocking at the door of your heart right now. Will you open that door and invite him into your heart? Remember you are your doorkeeper to heaven. You have the power to open that door. Think about that. You do not want to miss what God has planned for you in heaven and on this earth as well.

Originally submitted to his local paper, this guest article by Pastor Mur first appeared at the Pneuma Foundation (parent organization of PneumaReview.com) website on September 5, 2006. Later included in the Fall 2020 issue.

Frank Viola, From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God (David C. Cook, 2009), 320 pages, ISBN 9781434768704.

In times of postmodernism, when metanarratives, and especially Biblical metanarratives, are being deconstructed and questioned by just about every secular movement, there has been a consistent attempt to explain the story of the Bible again to a postmodern and unchurched generation in a way they would actually understand.

To begin with the obvious, the book is comprised of three familiar narratives that have already been openly discussed: the Bride of Christ, the House of God, and finally the Body of Christ and the Family of God. The careful reader immediately notices that all three of these narratives are framed with the language of family. The story of the first family in Genesis, is not merely the fall of Adam and Eve, but how the whole creation is God’s very plan for redemption of the universe and the salvation of mankind. This perspective changes the understood purpose of the Gospel from being preoccupied with the fall of humankind to God-centered Missio Dei.

From Eternity to Here resembles the expository apologetic style of Augustine in De Civitate Dei. But instead of being philosophical, what we have here is much more a narrative, very similar to the approach taken by St. Symeon the New Theologian.

The view of God’s love being presented is similar to the way Karl Barth treats it in his commentary to the Romans. Perhaps this is because Viola sees it from his own experience of knowing God which tries to see it from God’s own perspective through God’s grace. When speaking of the ultimate purpose of God for mankind and the universe, Viola, almost like Barth, walks on the edges of universalism. While it is true that God draws the creation to Himself through His love, a careful theologian would make their audience aware of the danger of universalism, unless they believe such a soteriological view. So, I wrote Viola to ask if he subscribes to universalism and his response was that he did not. And it seems it would be quite difficult for him to be a Universalist, because of what he believes about the reality of Hell.

The three discourses of the book have been much discussed since its publication, yet a few observations are in order. Part one represents an ageless romance of a transcendent and eternal God who creates His bride and reconciles the entire creation with Himself in order to redeem her back to His love. It is a passion that passes through space and time like no other.

The second narrative shows God on a mission. And while the Creator is described as “homeless” and searching for a home within His own creation, His mission is only completed in making mankind His home. Thus, the creation searches with God and a deserted and wildered mankind is found by God and finds eternal rest in Him alone.

This introduces the third “new species” discourse that resolves the dilemma of one whole generation, reconciling the story of the Bible with a postmodern mindset. The union of Adam and Eve also puts a completely new perspective on the Biblical role of women and it makes an interesting case for their equal roles in creation and ministry.

Disappointment has been expressed in the unchurched language used in the book to describe God’s emotions, but what about a sermon preached in 1741 by Jonathan Edwards under the name “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”? Yet, a warning is indeed in order as the beginning of the 21st century is marked by a surge of postmodern apologetics through which Christian authors address issues outside the institutionalized church (social, political and economic) with the language of the people. But this attempt often goes so “deep undercover” that it remains foreign even to the church itself. A prime example for this phenomenon was the Purpose Driven Church, which being a powerful address to the unchurched, often remains a mystery to many mainline Christians who simply could not separate themselves from the known church language. Could we find a balanced way to present Biblical truths while keeping the language of the Bible itself?