Those Who’ve Seen Heaven

Those Who’ve Seen Heaven

We are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. –2 Corinthians 5:8

I went on amazon.com today to look up books about near-death experiences. Wow. Not only are there a lot of people who claim to have had these experiences, it would seem they have all written a book about how it changed their lives! Some say they saw heaven. Some saw hell; some saw loved ones; some saw a light.

There are several people in the Bible for whom God pulled back the curtain to give a glimpse of the reality of heaven. Isaiah described his vision: “I saw the Lord . . . sitting on a lofty throne” (6:1). John recorded his vision of heaven in Revelation. Jesus told him, “I hold the keys of death and the grave. Write down what you have seen” (1:18-19). But one of the most intriguing experiences to me is that of Paul. “I was caught up into the third heaven,” he writes in 2 Corinthians. “Whether my body was there or just my spirit, I don’t know; only God knows. But I do know that I was caught up into paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be told” (12:2-4).

Cannot be told? I can’t help but feel disappointed when I read this because I would like to know! Wouldn’t you? At least I know that this is a person I can trust when he tells me about heaven. And one of the best things Paul tells us about heaven comes earlier in that same letter, something simple, but profound—that he would rather be absent from the body and home with the Lord (see 2 Corinthians 5:8). Paul’s words are precious because knowing a believer is at home once his soul leaves his body makes all the difference when you’re sitting at the bedside of one who is taking his or her final breaths on earth, doesn’t it?

I love something David said in an interview about the night Gabe died. He said, “While it was one of the most excruciating moments of my life, it also was not hard to envision that he took his last breath here and took his next breath in the presence of God.” Don’t believe that those who die in Christ linger here, longing to return. Neither are their souls waiting anywhere that is less than the very presence of God. They go home with the Lord, and one day so will you.

My Companion for the afterlife, it seems so natural to cling to this life rather than long for the life to come. Draw back the curtain of my heart so that I will embrace the joy of finally being at home in your presence.

DIGGING DEEPER