Heaven On Earth?

Brian and I are enjoying a vacation at Disney with our son Dan, his family, and his in-laws. There is nothing better than quality time with the family; except maybe quality time in a magic kingdom.

Everywhere you look everyone seems to be totally enjoying themselves, suddenly all around us, about nap time for their little ones, everywhere you look there’s a baby crying. As wonderful as it is, Disney can just be too much.

Our big guys hung in quite well for the most part, we only had a couple of tantrums, some minor whining spells, less than a dozen reminders to keep their hands to themselves, and they only played swords with their forks and knives for a moment, but hey, they’re grandpas! What can you expect? The grandsons were wonderfully behaved.

I think when I was a child I thought heaven would be something like Disney World. Of course everyone would have the fast pass, and all the restaurants would be free, and you wouldn’t have to decide which souvenir to buy because everyone you love would be there. You wouldn’t need money, or naps, or sunscreen; everything would be perfect.

What is it about Disney that makes everyone want to go there? It’s really not much more than a multi-acre, money-vacuum, non-stop-commercial for everything Disney. Why do we love it?

I was thinking about that as we rode the monorail back to the station where we picked up the tram to ride over to the parking lot to get the car to drive back to the hotel. As I was thinking I looked at my tired husband holding our grandson who was smiling from ear to ear, which was pretty much the same way they started the day about fourteen hours earlier.

We were together all day, doing fun things, experiencing new things, and making memories with people we love. I wonder if that is what heaven will be like. I wonder if that will be a tiny portion of what heaven will be like.

We know that we will see and recognize each other in heaven. We know that heaven is unending. We know that we will have no tears in heaven. We know we will love perfectly. While we had a perfect day yesterday, or as perfect as you can have on earth, we know there are days here, even at Disney, that are not perfect for everyone.

We know there will be no fatigue, boredom, meltdowns, or hunger, or that we will be too hot or too cold. But we can’t begin to imagine what heaven will truly be like.

“‘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

We may often think of heaven with an idea of spending eternity with the people we know and love today, but more important than that, we will be spending eternity worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ! Perhaps because our purpose and focus in heaven will finally be completely God-centered, that is why heaven will be perfect.

“Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand, they encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they were saying: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!’ — Revelation 5:11-12 NIV

One thing that stood out to me today, was the perpetual music. I don’t think I will mind the constant sound of praise in heaven. I think I will enjoy it.

We will have the glorious privilege and pleasure of praising the King we love. And there is only one way to get there. There is no tram, no monorail, no shuttle; there is only the Gospel.

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you have received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise you have believed in vain.” — 1 Corinthians 15:1-2

And that Gospel is the totality of the perfect life, death, resurrection and exaltation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word, who was With God and who was God (John 1:1).

Disney has nothing over heaven. Have you made the decision to surrender your heart and life to Jesus? What about the people you love, have you, will you, share with them the way to heaven?