A taste of heaven ...

Is heaven a vacant cloud, where we will occupy time with harps and things and watch eternity go by?

In December we went for a drive that took us along a famous mountain pass. The pass hugs the coast, with precarious overhangs and steep cliffs. The sea below is one of the most treacherous on earth, having claimed many ships throughout history.

It is often very windy up there and engineering has had to be done to restrain rock falls, so it is not a safe place: neither is heaven.

We found a lookout point and took out our picnic baskets to enjoy the last of a perfect day. The sun was setting over the bay on a windless evening. Colors and hues reflected over the shimmering seas and two whales frolicked in the cold water. The air was still as though even heaven held its breath at the wonder before us.

I said to my family, “Right now, this is one of the ten most profound moments on the planet.” The sun slowly melted into the horizon, boiling the sea in a riot of colors until its orb slipped away: the day was done, but its glory lingered for a long while before the night came. We had seen something of the wonder of God.

A few nights later we returned, but the wind was up and so we could not relive the earlier moment. Instead we drove down to a beach which was sheltered from the wind. There we walked along sandy shore through icy water, whilst the shadows lengthened. Then we climbed some dunes that gave us a 360 degree view of the bay: town lights lay behind us, mountains flanked us and the sun-washed sea lay ahead. We played in the dunes and talked well beyond sunset and finally retreated in the darkness that followed.

That was one of the most memorable moments of my life. But more importantly, it was the greater picture of glory. For heaven is not a scene or vista, nor is it a place of imposing architecture and golden highways. It is that too, but the essence of heaven is relationship. Experiences will be rich in shared memories, stories of everyday heroism and a common destiny in the future of the kingdom. The fabric of the place will knit hearts into divine purpose, raising an army of priests that will be co-laborers and co-heirs with Jesus through the countless sunrises and sunsets, of eternities yet to come.

© Peter Eleazar at http://www.bethelstone.com