Tasting Heaven

†   †   †   †

ARE WE BARELY HANGING ON? DOING OUR BEST TO SURVIVE? WAITING FOR HEAVEN?

Then we might be missing out.

<>

NO DOUBT, heaven will be an indescribable eternal experience. No tears. No pain. All things in a forever pristine condition, never rusting, fading, or growing old or fat. A place of forever delight and freedom … Some days, I can’t wait for this.

But we must deal with today. The world. People dying, cheating, suffering, lying, divorce, depression, killing. An endless list of ills with temporary value. Momentary drama. Evanescence.

WHAT’S THE COST of letting my heart and thoughts engross in troubles and entertain problems, all the evil realities of a temporary realm? 

<>

The cost is high. Your sanity? Stress? Sickness? Premature death? Miserable existence?

IGNORING death, suffering, and pain can be just as harmful, if not worse. So where’s the balance? Is there security amid the “impervious” shadows of madness and chaos?

HAVE YOU TASTED HEAVEN? Really? I don’t mean the transient things people label “heavenly”: chocolate, prizes, monetary wealth, orgasms, intoxication, adrenaline highs . . .

I MEAN a true taste of heaven:
When you hurt, was someone gentle toward you?
When you were irritated, did someone respond with patience?
Did the sight of a new baby fill you with joy?
Has peace ever engulfed you when you pray?
You blow out a tire, and a stranger helps you change it. That’s kindness.

Grandma listens with all five senses as you share your day-gone-bad, and then she brings out a plate of your favorite cookies. That’s goodness.
You lose your job and have to confess it to your wife. She sticks by your side. Faithfulness

IF YOU CAN RELATE to any of the above, you’ve experienced a special love, you’ve sampled the reminders of something better that once was and still is to come. You’ve tasted true Heaven. God sprinkles it into the darkness to say, “Hey, I AM here.”  It’s a glimpse of His nature that becomes visible to those who seek Him with all their heart, mind and strength.

SIMPLE ACTIONS can touch our hearts with eternity.
An act of kindness is a taste of what Heaven holds for those who believe and trust.

I LONG to experience and create these moments every day. I want to live in the Promised Land.
Don’t wait! It’s for the here and now. Don’t toil. Don’t turn hermit.

Trust and Believe

LIVE IT OUT. Let go of the temporary. There’s nothing to lose, and an increase of satisfaction to gain.

Psalm 37 (in part)

…Trust in the Lord, and do good (simple acts);
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

DWELL there & CONSUME what can be trusted

Delight yourself also in the Lord,
and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord . . . trust
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

HE’S GOT YA COVERED.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
…
The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand…

LIVING IN A TEMPORAL WORLD IS A HARD ROAD TO WALK.

ARE YOU LIVING IN SUCH A WAY THAT OTHERS CAN TASTE HEAVEN?

The Way of the Embattled Spirit