Arcade Church

I left yesterday for 10 days of vacation, and it seems thoughts are already beginning to fill my mind about various things unrelated to productivity as a leader. This is odd for me because it normally takes anywhere from 5-10 days to let go of all the things on my mind, and by then it’s time to return to those responsibilities; I know, not all that healthy! However, I must be at a good spot as I have unplugged in a hurry! Hoorah!!

I was looking through some 1,800 pictures on my wife’s computer when I came across this one:

This is a picture of my Grandpa. He played a major role in my life in many areas, including spiritual encouragement and direction. As he aged he seemed to only dig deeper into the truths of God and was constantly praying and reading to understand God better and to equip himself for ministry until his last breath. He seemed to find great peace in the reality of heaven. The book he is holding in his hand is a book my wife and I bought him a couple years before his departure. Heaven was even more real to him when my Grandma passed on in 1995. It became more of a reality for all of us as we found peace and comfort in the current situation. For probably the first time in my life I really spent a lot of time thinking about what’s next. This world is so consuming and heaven always seemed out of touch and out of reach until someone so close to me was facing this reality. It seemed like my Grandpa longed for heaven. He had reason to. I mean, his final years of life seemed to be less pleasant, less fulfilling, and less attractive to him than any other time in his life. It had nothing to do with the care he was receiving; he was greatly loved. It had everything to do with his longing to be in the very presence of God, in perfection, as God intended.

When I looked at this picture today, I was moved. Moved to some emotion because the book I had bought him is now the reality of his life; he is with the Father in Heaven. This challenges me because of the opportunity heaven presents to me today. As my Grandpa lived, he lived for heaven long before he faced the reality of heaven. This thought of eternity drove him to the likeness of Christ when he was alive, and it should drive me as well.

I guess I have always had the mindset that placed heaven very far off and out of touch, and yet I know that God is very near and very present. I recognize heaven to be a reality in which all is made right, set back to right. Heaven is life as God intended with Him: restored, renewed, fulfilled, and conformed into the image of Jesus, without sin. I know that Jesus said He was going off to prepare a place for us and I know the descriptions from the book of Revelation. However, heaven still feels too abstract and so incomprehensible.

Today I choose not to put God in a box and even attempt to comprehend the reality of heaven; instead, today I, like my Grandpa, choose to live heaven on earth. Maybe it would be better to say that I will strive for, train for, and practice living for the Kingdom of God. Revelation says,

“And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” Revelation 4:8

I have always spent so much time thinking about these moments out of this world; yet now, I feel moved to think more about this moment in the present. How does my life express this degree of worship? This is what I am concerned with now; I am certain of this moment later, but what about today? How does my life worship, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty”?

In Heaven, would you always choose Jesus over anything or anybody else? Uh, yeah, I would say so. In the reality of Heaven, who is it you will be consumed with? In the reality of Heaven, who do you desire to please first and foremost? Who is the ultimate authority in Heaven?

May Jesus assume this position today in our lives as we live for the Kingdom of God in the present reality of this world. Live in eternity now! Train for a life that proclaims the holiness of God and points others towards His grace, mercy, and unconditional love.