NO Eye Has Seen

However, as it is written:
"What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived"—
the things God has prepared for those who love him— (1 Corinthians 2:9 NIV)

There are some popular books available about people who have been to heaven and have come back to tell about it. I've read a couple of them and have come away doubtful. At first the books really annoyed me because they were obviously written by folks who held literal interpretations of the Bible. They would write about heaven having literal roads paved with literal gold and literal mansions all standing behind a literal gate made of literal pearls. I had to wonder... Would these folks really lie about their experience in order to make money off a book?

I've since decided that their experiences were moments of grace give by God in a way they could understand and process. I have experienced such grace in difficult and confusing times too. And I think that is what Jesus' discriptions of heaven in the Bible are about as well.

I think what heaven is actually like is way too far above our comprehension to understand and so Jesus gives us these images of the world's most desirable things to let us know that heaven is beyond everything we could ever need or want.

I guess my annoyance about those books I mentioned wasn't so much that I disagreed with the authors, but that I felt a disappointment with their version of heaven. I WANT it to be more than that... Gold and pearls and mansions are a delight in this life, but I expect so much more from the next!

Father,
Thank you for the moments of grace you send to us to help us through grief and confusion. But keep our hearts open to the unimaginable glories you have in store for us. Amen.

Joys: I love that a whole nation can get together to celebrate something as silly as Groundhog Day.... Have a happy one!