Home. What does that word mean to you?

Take all those wonderful memories, multiply them a hundred-fold, and you will just have scratched the surface of what our heavenly home will be like.

What will heaven be like? Revelation 21-22 gives us a glimpse. Here John describes a place that is absolutely perfect with streets of gold and gates of pearl.

He is introduced to the “Bride” – a city that is a family, God’s perfect new community.

What will life be like in this new community?

1.     You will be wondrously transformed.
Verse 1 speaks of a “new heaven and a new earth,” and aren’t you glad?  Satan’s savagery and human sinfulness have raped God’s creation.  It’s a far cry from the “very good” world that the Lord first made.

But it’s not only the world at large that will be transformed – you will be transformed. Think of it! A new fit-for-eternity body and housing a whole new sin-free nature.

2.     You will be thoroughly joyful.
Not only will all those things that rob you of joy be removed, but heaven will add the things that bring the greatest joy.

3.     You will be ceaselessly productive.
You need never fear that heaven will be boring! We were made with a desire to grow and learn… to contribute and produce. And that’s what we will do in heaven. The responsibility God gave mankind in Eden will be reinstated… to have dominion and rulership.

4.     You will be intimately cherished.
Think of it!  We’re going to be in the very presence of the Father. We’ll get to crawl up on Abba-Papa’s lap.

We’ll be in the presence of the Lamb who died for us. We will see His face and look into His eyes. All our questions will be answered.

This is your destiny when you’re finally home. With that in mind, how should that impact the way we live?

• Knowing there’s a heaven can keep us from handling discontentment in unwise ways.

We have this deep longing for contentment, but in this world that desire is consistently frustrated. And you’re tempted to meet that need for contentment in a way that does not honor God or advance His Kingdom. But knowing what awaits us in heaven allows us to delay gratification and remain faithful to our Father.

• Knowing there’s a heaven can comfort us when times are hard.

When the bottom of life drops out…when the roof begins to cave in… the promise of heaven reminds us that there’s a firm, unshakable shelter above.

• Knowing there’s a heaven can encourage us that our lives have meaning.

Sometimes we’re tempted to think that life is futile and that we’re simply marking time down here. But the Bible clearly teaches us that every day has meaning and purpose.

Your life matters. Your actions are not in vain. Your sacrifices have not gone unseen. And that can make all the difference in the world in how you approach life.

Text: Revelation 21:1-22:6

Originally recorded on June 11, 2000, at Fellowship Missionary Church, Fort Wayne, IN