Philippians 3:14; The Prize – 1.20.2015

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Paul presses on toward the goal to win the prize (Phil 3:14).  Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him (Heb. 12:2). Our citizenship is in heaven and our lowly body will be transformed to be like his glorious body (Phil 3:20-21). 

In these three verses, heaven is described as a prize, as joy, as our true home where we will become like Christ.  It sounds pretty great doesn’t it?  So why don’t we ever think or talk about it?  DL Moody says:

“Surely it is not wrong for us to think and talk about Heaven. I like to find out all I can about it. I expect to live there through all eternity. If I were going to dwell in any place, if I were going to make it my home, I would inquire about its climate, about the neighbors I would have — about everything I could learn concerning it. If soon you were going to emigrate, that is the way you would feel. Well, we are all going to emigrate in a very little while. We are going to spend eternity in another world. … Is it not natural that we should look and listen and try to find out who is already there and what is the route to take?”

I really don’t know many details about heaven, but I have had small hints of what it will feel like:

I think heaven will feel a bit like that moment in worship when your heart swells and you feel it will explode with God’s goodness. 

I think heaven will feel like a relaxed dinner with great friends that you haven’t seen in a long time. 

I think heaven will feel like the initial rush of being in love.

I think heaven will feel like doing the things you love doing more than anything else in the world. 

I think heaven will feel like what we hope Christmas will feel like.

I think heaven will feel like the moment you witness a mountain sunrise or an ocean sunset or some part of nature that causes you to gawk, open-mouthed, at it.

I think heaven will be the thrill of unbridled adventure in new and exciting places.

I think heaven will feel like those brief moments when you know that you are in the perfect center of God’s will…but all the time.

Have you experienced moments when you say, “I wish it could always be like this”?  Well, in heaven, I think it will be like that – and better.  Infinitely better! 

The bible gives us hints of what heaven will be like, but I think this is the best description: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” - 1 Cor. 2:9.  Our prize is beyond our ability to articulate, understand, or imagine – and that is something to get excited about!

Think about heaven.  Pray about it.  Dream about it.  Let your mind float away and imagine living in the physical presence of God in a land where there is no fear, no sin, no sickness, no tears, no death and you are like Jesus.  When life gets hard, comfort yourself with those thoughts because as a follower of Christ that is your prize.  You WILL be there one day – celebrate that truth!

“But God will look to every soul like its first love because He is its first love. Your place in heaven will seem to be made for you and you alone, because you were made for it--made for it stitch by stitch as a glove is made for a hand.” – CS Lewis