What Does Heaven Look Like?

What Does Heaven Look Like?

By Br. Michael

My Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I often wonder what Heaven might look like when I die. I wonder if I will wake up there. We have all heard of near-death experiences, I have thankfully, not had one, but they do pique my interest when you hear of someone who has.

According to scripture the way to heaven is difficult, “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13,14.

I can only imagine what heaven might look like, when one thinks of paradise and the afterlife. I always think of beautiful landscapes, animals, peacefulness, bliss, and all the things that made you happy when you were still alive. I hope that when I die, I could see myself to some sort of glorious paradise.

There was one lady who was suffering from fatal illness, her organs were shutting down, she died – went to heaven and felt peace and unconditional love; she said there was no judgment about what you had done on the planet. That is the kind of heaven I would like to wake up in.

Again, scripture reminds us that Christ is the way to Heaven. Jesus will lead us to heaven if we are obedient and humble, for as it is written, “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:11,12. If we continue to believe, keep our faith, and preach the Gospel, perhaps we too may find our way to eternal life in heaven.

Sometimes on Earth our desire for material possessions overtakes our lives and we begin to think that is the most important, and in time we may begin to shut the Lord out of our lives and replace His love and mercy with things of this world that we think our more important. But as scripture tells us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourself treasure in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:19 -20.

Being alive today is a gift, as the saying goes, “the present is a present,” and I do cherish each moment as they pass away into the past. As anybody does, I do think about death and what comes next, but I try not to dwell on how it will come, for, then I sometimes feel a fear of the unknown. I do know that there is indeed an afterlife, what it may look like, of course I cannot know until I pass into there by God’s grace alone. My human curiosity tries to inform me about what it may be like, but as we read scripture we come to know, “But, as it is written, ‘What no eyes has seen nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,’; there is comfort in knowing that much. Thanks be to God.

Yours in Christ,

Br. Michael