Chapter 2

 

 

What do you think of when you think of heaven? Do you think of a great big gate with angels standing guard at the entrance? Do you imagine Peter, the disciple, waiting inside the gate and asking, “Why should I let you in?” Do you envision a place of billowy clouds, high in the sky? Have you ever even considered heaven? If not, you must have searched the night skies for the moon or the constellations, or watched the glory of the setting sun? I have always thought that heaven is the place that I will go to when I die. I will live with God, and it is supposed to be a happy place where I will meet up with those who have gone there before me. As a nurse, I have listened to patients who would talk of deceased family members who had come to visit them just a few days before their death. Heaven is the place that most people think of when someone they love has left this world, even if they had never really considered it before. Heaven becomes a very real hope in times of loss. There is a verse in the Bible where Paul says he was caught up to the third heaven, and in Philippians he says that it is better to be away from the body and be in heaven.

I once heard a story about someone who went to heaven and was welcomed by an angel who gave the new arrival a tour. During the tour, they came upon a large vault-like structure with locked drawers and cabinets. The person asked the angel what the drawers and doors were for. The angel responded that they were filled with all the wonderful plans, hopes and dreams that had been waiting to be given to the people on earth, but the things within the drawers had never been claimed or asked for. Many people had desires, dreams and aspirations that were never fulfilled in their lives. They had never stepped out in courage and faith to claim the achievements and things that were still within the drawers. This is a powerful allegory, indicating that there is so much that is still unattained here on earth. Imagine so many dreams left unfulfilled, possessions unclaimed, hopes deferred and actions never taken.

God exhorts us to open our mouth wide and he will fill it. (Psalm 81:10) We do not expect greatness from God or even from ourselves. We do not think of a God who longs to be gracious to us and waits for us to act upon our dreams. The Scriptures also say, “You do not have because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2) Jim Rohn wrote, “The worst thing one can do is not to try, to be aware of what one wants and not give in to it, to spend years in silent hurt wondering if something could have materialized - never knowing.”

God is a giving God, and He said in John 10:10 that Jes