Something to ponder...

We've been going through "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan at church and this is a question that he wrote about in the book:

"The critical question for our generation—and for every generation— is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there? " — John Piper (God Is the Gospel: Meditations on God's Love as the Gift of Himself)

This was a difficult question for me to answer at first because it wasn't something I had ever really thought about. When I picture heaven, I just think about the fact that everything will be perfect and I'll be there with Jesus. I had never thought about whether heaven could be perfect without Jesus, though. Then I thought that I might be okay with it because it sounds like there wouldn't be any problems there and that wouldn't be so bad.

As I thought about it more, I realized that I have had a few perfect days here on earth. For example, the perfect summer day of going to the beach with friends, playing in the waves, eating frozen yogurt, and having a barbecue. Or the perfect winter day of having a pillow fight, snowball fight, watching Faerie Tale Theatre, making hot chocolate, and playing Scrabble. Those were fun and simple days where all of the things that John Piper talked about in his quote were happening. One of the reasons that they were just right was because of being aware of God's presence during them. They would have been empty and meaningless if I hadn't been thinking
about the beauty that He has created on earth. Basically, it's next to impossible to see dolphins swimming in the ocean or deer gathered in a snowy field and not believe in God. So, I've gotten a tiny taste of what heaven will be like and I don't want to go there if it means that I don't get to be with Jesus.

In the words of one of my favorite worship songs ever, "Better is one day in your courts than thousands elsewhere."