Heaven On Earth

• How do you picture heaven?

• How would your life be different if you lived each day with a greater awareness of heaven?

Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling.
2 Corinthians 5:2

Have you ever heard something described as “heaven on earth”? Usually the phrase is used when someone’s talking about an exotic vacation destination or a cozy hometown. Most people likely have some very specific ideas about what heaven on earth is for them.

In reality, though, heaven and earth are two very different places. Heaven is our homeland, the place of our citizenship. The other is earth. No, that’s not a mistake. That’s reality for Christians. The earth is not our home.

The apostle Peter describes us as “foreigners and exiles” in this world (1 Peter 2:11). The apostle Paul urges us to hang on to our outsider status and warns, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). In other words, we shouldn’t make ourselves too comfortable here because we’re only passing through. Our lives will not be complete until we enter heaven.

That perspective allows us to look at the bad things in this world from a temporary point of view. Pain is temporary. Suffering is temporary. That perspective may not make our misery go away, but it does help a little to know it won’t last forever.

PRAYER
Dear God, we thank you for the world we live in and the blessings you give us here. We thank you especially for the heavenly home you are preparing for us. Let us never lose sight of what’s really important. Amen.