Taken from the sermon “Things Above” from the sermon series Finally Home: What Heaven Means for Earth by Mark Vroegop.
We’re walking through the subject of heaven with a handful of articles here on the College Park Church Resources site. This is the second installment. If you haven’t read the first article, check it out and come back!
You may wonder, “With so many pressing and urgent issues in our world today, why should we bother understanding heaven?”
Heaven is worth studying for many reasons, but these are just a few.
1. Most people believe in heaven but know little about it.
If you took a quick survey of people at work, in your neighborhood, or in your extended family; most would say that they believe in heaven. A Lifeway Research poll conducted a several years ago found that two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans believe that heaven is a real place, while 45 percent also believe that there are many ways to get to heaven.
2. There is cultural interest in heaven.
Some time ago, it dawned on me that many books and movies that have been released in the last decade or so deal with heaven or near-death experiences. Two you might have heard of, Heaven is for Real (2013) and Miracles from Heaven (2015), made it into the theaters. Books include Imagine Heaven, Proof of Heaven, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and 90 Minutes in Heaven. It is worth noting, as well, how the appeal of stories about heaven and near-death experience is coupled with an interest in dystopian tales. Why? Our culture seems to be fascinated both with a world in which everything has fallen apart and one in which everything is perfect.
3. Many Christians do not see the important connection between heaven and earth.
I would guess that many who call themselves Christians rarely think about heaven unless they are at a funeral. I think even more see heaven and earth as two realms of living that have little to do with one another. Yes, most of us know the part of the Lord’s prayer that says, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” but do we really know what that means in our lives on earth?
4. There are many misunderstandings related to what heaven will be like.
If you surveyed those in your own church, there would be a wide range of ideas as to what heaven is going to be like. For example, we have differing thoughts on questions like: Will we live in heaven or on earth? Will we eat and drink? Will we be married? Will we know one another? What has happened to those who have already died? Why is the resurrection important? What will we do in heaven?
These are just some of the important questions to consider when we think about heaven—Christians have varying ideas, which means it is important to know what we personally believe.
5. It is good to be reminded where our real citizenship lies—particularly in an increasingly post-Christian culture.
In the “Hall of Fame” of Hebrews 11, we read about the faith of Christians who have gone before:
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (vv. 13–16).
A heavenly mindset was also a central part of the apostle Paul’s encouragement to stand firm in obedience and righteousness in a sinful and deceptive world.
Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved (Phil. 3:17–4:1).
My hope is that we deeply care about heaven even amidst present tumult. I promise that you will learn more, but I also promise that I will not be able to answer all your questions.
I also pray that those of you who are Christians will see the strategic and transformative value of being “heavenly-minded as you study and think about heaven. For those of you who are not Christians, I pray that this endeavor may lead you to faith for the first time.
As we learn what heaven is like, our goal is to answer this question: “If heaven is like that, how should I live right now?”
Read the third article in this series, where we will look at heaven and our spiritual position, or check out the sermon series Finally Home: What Heaven Means for Earth.
