‘We are citizens of heaven.’ Philippians 3:20 NLT
The story is told of a pastor who asked his congregation, ‘How many of you want to go to heaven?’ Everyone raised their hand except one little boy. The pastor said, ‘Son, don’t you want to go to heaven?’ He replied, ‘Yes, but I thought you were getting up a batch to go right now!’ Let’s be honest, we don’t think or talk much about heaven until a loved one dies and goes there, or we grow old and feel like we have fulfilled our assignment here on earth. Then we feel a tug pulling us heavenward. And we should. On average, we will spend about seventy or eighty years here, whereas we will spend eternity there. ‘We shall always be with the Lord’ (1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV).
Here on earth we get a mixed scorecard; sometimes we do well, other times not so well. But in heaven, we will be just like Jesus. ‘We are citizens of heaven…we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Saviour. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own’ (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT). C.S. Lewis wrote that in heaven each of us will be a ‘dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine’ . All the patriarchs, prophets, and preachers in the Bible longed for heaven. Zechariah describes it in these words: ‘They’ll become…like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colours of the sun. Then…they’ll shine!’ (Zechariah 9:16-17 MSG). Question: If you were to die today, would you go to heaven? You can, by putting your trust in Jesus Christ
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body
16 The Lord their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
They will sparkle in his land
like jewels in a crown.
17 How attractive and beautiful they will be!
Grain will make the young men thrive,
and new wine the young women.
