By Wendy Reaume

Unless we are present for the second coming of Christ, the one thing we all have in common is that one day we will die. For those who know Jesus Christ as their Saviour, this means not the end of life but the continuation of eternal life simply at a different address, in Heaven. Jesus talks about heaven 70 times in the book of Matthew alone. It is the first thing mentioned in the Bible; in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth; and the last chapter in the book of Revelation tells us about the city of God in heaven. And yet, we have so many questions. This week we will look at just a few of the things Jesus taught about heaven. And we will begin with when we get there.

Jesus was crucified between two ‘thieves’ on the cross. We can see 3 crosses on mountainsides or church backdrops and know right away that Jesus was in the middle and there were 2 criminals, one on either side. We learn this from Luke 23: Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left…

 But this passage also assures us that when we die, we go immediately to be with Jesus in heaven. One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: ‘Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other criminal rebuked him. ‘Don’t you fear God,’ he said, ‘since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.’ Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’ This man was guilty and deserved punishment. And yet, his last-minute faith in Jesus was enough. And Jesus made it very clear that he would go to paradise this day.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 confirms this: Therefore, we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord…We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  

1 Thessalonians 4:14, 15: Paul writes, We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own words, we tell you that we who are still alive [at the 2^nd coming of Christ] will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.

And of course, the most comforting words of all are those of Christ Jesus himself when He promises us the truth of heaven in His heartfelt goodbye to the disciples: John 14:1-6 “’Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’ Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

Jesus promises heaven to those who follow the way of faith through Him. He teaches that He will come back and take us there to be with Him upon our death. He teaches that He will do that the very time we die, and that He has prepared a place for us in heaven. 

Because of the hope of heaven, when a loved one passes away we can mourn, but not as those without hope.  Jesus’ love for us not only makes a way, but we can have the confidence that the sadness for the ones left behind is not the reality for the one dying. They are safely with Christ and we will one day be reunited in heaven.

Our song for today is Hymn of Heaven by Phil Wickham.