There is a story in the Bible, (Genesis 28:10-22), about a man named Jacob, who had a dream. In this dream a ladder was set up on earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. The Lord stood above it and spoke to Jacob telling him of many wonderful things that He was going to do for him.
The dream was so real that when Jacob awakened he built an altar, a pillar to God upon the stone that had pillowed his head the night before. Jacob called the name of that place Bethel, which means, House of God. It must have been an awesome feeling for Jacob to have such an encounter with heavenly beings and hear the voice of the Lord.
I heard another story that a lady shared with me a few months back involving a ladder. In the story, a little girl went to her mommy and asked her to buy a ladder so that she could climb up to heaven to visit her grandpa. The innocence and simple faith of a child is something that we should all strive for.
This story touched my heart. It caused me to take inventory of my life; to stop and evaluate if there was still childlike faith present within me as much as there was in my childhood.
I guess if it were possible to visit our loved ones in heaven by this method of travel, we would no doubt grab the nearest ladder to see if it would work for us. Hypothetically, when word got out, carpenters everywhere would come out of the woodwork to specialize in the building of ladders, because of the tremendous demand for them throughout the world.
Serious, money hungry entrepreneurs would build only one ladder and sell round-trip tickets to anyone that wanted to climb to heaven to visit their loved ones. Perhaps these money handlers would purchase properties everywhere to set up many ladders and hang signs outside the gates that read, “Heaven Bound—Lowest Prices Anywhere.”
There is a problem with this scenario. When people reached the top of the ladder and looked into heaven for the first time and saw all of the splendor and magnificence, the desire to return to earth would quickly fade into oblivion.
Money would become worthless like confederate currency, because of the mass exodus taking place. The entrepreneur’s money that became their god would become valueless.
“Ladder Climbers,” as they would be called, would quickly realize that nothing on earth compares to the majesty and splendor of heaven. Nothing measures up to the beautiful mansions, streets of gold, pearly gates, and the absence of pain and sorrow. The will see that everyone’s tears have been wiped away—never to cry again.
Ladder Climbers would recognize that the world is nothing more than a dressing room for eternity. With this awakening comes the realization that the things they place so much value in are nothing more than sticks and stubble; temporal at best that soon fade away.
If people everywhere could catch a glimpse of heaven and look into the face of God as He welcomed His children home, they would be more inclined to rejoice at the passing of their loved ones rather than trying to hold on to them.
Thinking about heaven and God’s “perfect rest” causes me to feel a little selfish and self absorbed when wishing that my parents were still with me and not in heaven with Jesus.
If people could see what lies beyond the veil of death they would certainly live differently. They would possess an exceeding expectation for the wonderful things that are to come for those that have been born-again. The Bible teaches in (2 Corinthians 5:8), “We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.” This is the hope of the Christian.
My folks are basking in the presence of Almighty God. What greater prize is there in this life than to fall asleep and wake up in heaven; being surrounded with angels and loved ones that have gone on before? The Lord is there to welcome us with open arms and say, “Enter into the joy of your Lord; good and faithful servant.”
Death is nothing to fear when considering what awaits the Christian. Just think, our loved ones that have passed from this life through death’s door have completed the race and finished the course. Their journey here has ended, but their journey on streets of gold has just begun. How can we think of calling them back?
This lifespan on earth is like a vapor. It is a span of time that, in the scheme of things when measured alongside eternity, it fails to even register, yet God places tremendous value and emphasis on these few short years that He has given us. How we live this life directly impacts where we will spend eternity—heaven or hell.
Depending upon which garments that we choose to put on in this dressing room called life, determines where our soul will live forever and ever. Both garments are in this dressing room—the garment of righteousness, or the garment of self. The choice is ours to make as to which one we will wear.
There is no doubt that I would choose to go by ladder, escalator, elevator or an airplane, though I hate to fly, if I didn’t have to taste death. The Bible says in (Hebrews ) that we will die one time and then be judged by Jesus. Bear this in mind; Jesus is our Savior now, but in heaven He will be our Judge.
(Hebrews 9:27-28), “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” vs.28 “so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
(2 Corinthians 5:10), “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.”
The one and only way to make it to the other side is through Jesus Christ. He spanned the gulf (Sin) that separates man from God by shedding His blood. He allowed His hands and feet to be nailed to a cross for our sins. His side was wounded for our transgressions and He was bruised for our iniquity.
We are healed of sin and our infirmities by the stripes that Jesus suffered at the hands of merciless torturers and tormentors. He suffered and died a cruel death to provide the only means possible to get from earth to heaven.
Only the death of Jesus, God’s only begotten Son, bought our ticket to heaven where we will rejoice and praise God forever with our loved ones. Jesus came to earth, died, and rose from the dead on the third day. He went back to heaven to prepare a place for all those that serve Him in this life.
We need only to confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, and our name is then written in the Lambs Book of Life. Our reservation in heaven has been made. Thank you Father for the hope we possess in Jesus. We are heaven bound.
Written by,
Papa Boyd
No comments:
Post a Comment