I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:34, NLT)
I spoke with a close friend the other night after a competitive golf match. The day before, I had led a Links Fellowship, using Randy Alcorn’s book Heaven as a study reference. So when I talked with my friend, who does not believe in God, the topic of eternity with Jesus was still fresh in my mind.
After golf, while having a drink, I asked this friend, who is a busy executive, “If I invited you to go play Augusta National tomorrow morning and had a jet ready to pick us up at Orange County airport, are you in?” My friend answered with no hesitation: “ABSOLUTELY!”
Because I had shared earlier with him about heaven—how it promises us no more pain, no more suffering and we get new body—I then asked him, “Now if I invited you to go heaven with me, would you be in?” He got quiet and could not give me an absolute answer.
We are in the midst of what has long been called the Advent season, the time leading up to Christmas when the church traditionally recognizes the arrival of Jesus as God on earth. In Luke’s engrossing accounts of the year leading up to Jesus’ birth, we meet up with Zechariah, the eventual father of John the Baptist. When Zechariah was met by an angel, telling him that he would be father to the herald of the Messiah, the idea was simply too wonderful for Zechariah to believe. My pastor, Kenton Beshore, recently sent a prayer with Zechariah in mind:
Oh, Lord, when I read Zechariah’s story, I see how much I am like him. Your promises are so great; Your love is so incredible; it’s hard for me to believe. Forgive me. I often think, It’s not that I don’t believe You, I just need an explanation. But I see now it really is unbelief….Let me be the one who gets to tell people the wonder, joy, and thrill of all that is Christmas: You are a God who chose to be with us! Help me see all the beautiful ways You are showing up.
You see, the story of Christ’s birth, of his coming to be “God with us,” is miraculous, beautiful, and sometimes hard for us to understand. Often, the beauty of the miracle gets lost in the hurry and distractions of the season. I don’t want us to miss it! I want to wait with anticipation for what the Lord promises: comfort, joy, wonder, unfailing love. In other words, I want to use this season to spur me in my eager waiting for heaven.
I realize my friend does not know what to expect in heaven. As much as we can describe it or read about it, it’s not quite like Augusta. He has been to Augusta before, and he has watched the Masters live on TV many times. More than that, when he went to Augusta he returned home.
But heaven is for keeps, and its wonder will far outshine Augusta, Pebble Beach, Royal Melbourne, Pine Valley, Muirfield and St. Andrews—combined! So I want more excitement for heaven than Augusta. And if the Advent season can help me in that quest, I’m going to love every minute of it!
—
Dereck Wong
November 13, 2012
Copyright 2012 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.