The Contemplation of Heaven
Revelation 7:13-17
C. H. Spurgeon put it this way: "The way to liberate our souls from the bonds that tie us to earth is to strengthen the cords that bind us to heaven." The contemplation of heaven is not much preached these days; nobody wants to hear "pie in the sky." Why, then, is there so much Scripture on the subject? What could possibly justify our contemplation of heaven? Shouldn't we get to more practical work?
The contemplation of heaven has its merits. Here are but two:
· It changes our view of death. The weak see death as a terrible thing; the faithful see it as a change of address—moving on up.
· It should therefore make us more diligent—keeping our eyes on the prize.
This passage tells us of those who came through the Great Tribulation. It is not necessary to debate when that event is, was or will be; we need only look at the saints.
How blessed they are. There is, of course, an end to their afflictions and trials; those were taken from them. In their place they received eternal blessings. Christ told the woman at the well that she could have streams of living water; here we see those who do,
How did they get there? Somehow those mentioned in the Bible always seem to be "super saints." But this is not necessarily so. We know only two things about these saints:
· First, they "washed their robes" - that is, they accepted the grace of God, were baptized and received the forgiveness of sins. For our part, it is little enough. Christ did all the real work at Calvary.
· Next, they endured—to the end. It is as simple as that.
What should we do about it? It seems so far distant to some. It does not matter; the first thing we should do about heaven is to desire it. We must, as Paul tells us, set our minds on things above. It helps get our perspective right; just how transient our troubles really are.
We must also do this: know the importance of faith, and act upon it. The blessing was given to those who persevered to the end.
Sweet Beulah Land, Lord! Let our hearts long for the real home you are preparing for us.
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