Longing for Heaven

"...Day and night they never stop saying: 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.'

And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

'You are worthy , our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.'"
-Revelation 4:8b-11

How do you imagine heaven?

I have met several honest people who have said to me something like this:
"I don't want to go to heaven... who wants to float around on clouds and play harps all day? All of my friends will be in hell, so that's where I want to be too."

There are others I have met who pitch heaven like this:
"Everything will be made of gold, and we will all have mansions. There will be snowboarding and surfing and gardening and incredible food and anything that you could ever want! Who wouldn't want to go there?"

Both of these perspectives contain a grain of truth, and both of them are lethal. The incredible picture drawn in Revelation is not of flushed cherubs playing harps, nor of retired saints enjoying croquet. No, the image we see is of a throne surrounded by smoke and thunder and lightning, blazing spirits, and fearsome creatures worshiping constantly. We see the greatest of saints on their faces before the throne, considering crowns encrusted with otherworldly riches as nothing before the worth of the one who sits on it.

Only those who desire God more than anything else will see His awesome majesty. What is your deepest desire?