The Onward Journey

by Roger Purdom

Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Colombia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, countries across the African Continent, the UK, to name but a few. So many problems, so much fighting, so many hurts, so much tension, so much hatred, so much meaningless violence, so much famine, drought, so much death. I read a quote from Tearfund recently - 'while earthquakes, wars and hurricanes grab the headlines, the creeping disaster of Aids kills 8,000 people every single day of the year.'

Not a very comforting way to start another front page of Wavelength. Comforting it may not be but realistic it is. John Wesley once said, 'The best is yet to be.' So, whilst we think about all the above issues, plus many more unmentioned, let's focus on what is yet to be. Not that we then forget about what is happening all around us - rather it makes us more determined to share some good news.

Billy Graham has written yet another book - this latest is called 'The Journey'. In a personal reflection he says, 'Years ago I never dreamed I would live well into my late 80s but life has a way of surprising us and none of us can predict how long our journey will last. My wife and I talk about it frequently, knowing that some day soon our journey through this life will be over and we will embark on another journey - one that will last forever.'

I am sitting at the computer writing this and listening to a song called 'I'm longing for that glorious day'. The words are:

I'm longing for that glorious day when Jesus Christ shall come;
I long to see His blessed face.
I'm longing for Jesus to come back;

I long for Jesus Christ my King;
to come and take me
to my home beyond the sky,
up there where saints will shout and sing.

Let's encourage each other as we think about the place where we are going.

When Solomon prayed at the dedication of the Temple he had built for the Lord, he said repeatedly, "Hear from heaven, your dwelling place…" Heaven is the dwelling place of God - God, the Creator, God the Redeemer, God the Holy and Righteous One, God the Sustainer and Provider - the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.

When we say we are going to heaven, we are going to the dwelling place of God. When we go for a drive around we sometimes go down 'Impossible Lane' - ie the place of the dream houses but out-of-the-question places. We are going to God's house, where God lives and we are going to spend eternity there with Him and with millions of other people 'from every nation, people group and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb' - this is off-the-wall thinking.

It may be off-the-wall thinking but it is real - it's going to happen. We can be assured that it's going to happen because:

Jesus died to bring us into the family of God so that we know we have eternal life
God's promises in His Word look forward to the day when He will have His family around Him forever
The Holy Spirit witnesses within us that we are the children of God. 'If we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.'

'God's retirement plan is out of this world' (author unknown) sums it up. No worries about pensions, mortgages, repayments, etc. Our future in heaven is guaranteed, not on the basis of who we are or anything that we have done, but because of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done.

We can look forward to this glorious future with a sure and certain hope but this also brings a challenge and responsibility to each of us as we wait for that great day. There are many people around us who do not have that certainty of such a future; people who have no hope beyond this life. Isaac Asimov said, 'I don't believe in an afterlife, so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell, or fearing heaven even more. For whatever the tortures of hell, I think the boredom of heaven would be even more.'

As we think about heaven, let's be encouraged, excited and challenged as we thank God that our place is reserved and pray for those who, as yet, don't know the Saviour.

John Newton said, 'When I get to heaven, I shall see three wonders there. The first wonder will be to see many there whom I did not expect to see; the second wonder will be to miss many people who I did expect to see; the third and greatest of all will be to find myself there.'

And finally, Jim Packer said, 'Hearts on earth say in the course of a joyful experience, "I don't want this ever to end." But it invariably does. The hearts of those in heaven say, "I want this to go on forever." And it will. There is no better news than this.'

Parkside Evangelical Church

The Onward Journey

by Roger Purdom

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