Cool Heaven

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

When my son was a small boy I took him up to the mountains to stay overnight in a caboose. There’s a motel business that has converted old railroad cars into rooms for overnight stay. They even have a large passenger car that they have made into a restaurant. We took off after work and traveled up into the pine trees to find our quaint boarding for the night. We paid at the office and I let Jeff take the keys and run to the caboose to be the first to enter our domain. I drove over and parked by the side of the large green caboose. I walked up the steps to the doorway just in time to hear Jeff exclaim from inside the caboose, “COOL!”

I smiled and entered to see the reason for his comment. Inside were all the comforts of home. A large king size bed claimed most of the main room. I looked towards the back of the caboose and Jeff was climbing up into the cupola. This is an area where railroad workers could sit and observe out over the top of the caboose. Jeff was all smiles as he sat and looked out the window. He behaved like a monkey as he hung from the hand railings along the ceiling and sides of the wall. We had lots of fun that night, playing video games and watching one of his favorite movies “Shanghai Noon.”

 

I couldn’t help but wonder if Jesus will feel like I did when his children enter the place He has prepared for them. John 14:2 tells us that when Jesus left the earth He went to prepare a dwelling place for His children. It says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”

 

I can’t even come close to imagining what heaven must be like. The creator of the universe in all His power and with all His knowledge and creativity will fashion living quarters for us where we will dwell for eternity. I look at all of creation and see the beauty and variety in it and wonder what the paradise of heaven must be like.

 

Revelation 21:3 4 gives us a glimpse of what heaven is like. “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”

 

Imagine God living with us. We will be able to see Him face to face and worship Him with Him present before us. He will wipe the tears from our eyes, whether they are tears of the pain we have endured over the years or the tears of joy we have as we behold the wonderful eternal home He has prepared for us. We will experience no death in our new home. We will hear no mourning or crying. There will be no pain from arthritis, cancer, or disease. The old rules we lived by under the curse of sin on earth will be done away with. We will be living by fresh new rules where joy and peace are the standards of life.

I don’t believe heaven will be a place where we will sit on clouds playing harps all day long. I think that it is very likely we will spend most of our time in worship, giving praise to our Heavenly Father. We will be able to further cultivate our relationship with our Savior and Lord. We will have eternity to commune with Him and ask Him all those questions that we had no answers for. I also suspect that we will be given tasks to perform. Adam, in the Garden of Eden, was given the job of naming all the creatures that God created. God delegated this task to Adam for a reason. Very likely God will delegate tasks to us as well. The skills, talents and spiritual gifts God has bestowed on each of us will be put to use for eternity, for the enjoyment of both His children and Himself. Imagine the music, the art, and the creativity that God will inspire in heaven as His children dwell with Him.

 

Yes, I think God will take great pleasure in watching us enter the place He has prepared for us. He will watch, as our eyes grow as large as baseballs to take in the sights. He will see our ears perk up to hear the amazing sounds. He will see the huge smiles on our faces as the emotions of our hearts are revealed. He will hear a resounding chorus as we shout in unison, “COOL!”