Do you find yourself thinking of heaven as a place you get back everything you’ve lost? While it will be a place of joy and no more sorrow, it will be so much more! It will be the day of Christ, when he will be crowned the undisputed King of the universe – so get excited!
I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I love thinking about heaven.
I am definitely a woman of Hebrews 11:16, “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one." Yep, I do desire that better country. Oh, don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m tired of earth, and I’m not even at the point of saying “I’ve had enough of this wheelchair!” Although I definitely am weary of the chronic pain that comes with it! But I do long and look forward to that day on the horizon, “that better country,” as Hebrews puts it. It’s funny, because back in the early days of my paralysis when I first learned about heaven, I desired that better country, but it was because I would receive new hands and feet that could walk and run. Heaven would be the place I’d be free of the confinements of my quadriplegia. And so, in a way, heaven became an escape from my reality. A psychological crutch. It became my pie in the sky. Heaven, back then, was so me-centered that I believed the whole point of it was to get back all it owed me, everything that I had lost, all the good things my paralysis took away from me. And so, heaven became a death wish.
But many years passed, and with those years, I gained a little more spiritual maturity. Actually, I gained more of Christ. I learned to love him more; prefer him, choose him, delight in him more. And that is when it began to dawn on me that heaven was not the “day of Joni;” it would be the Day of Christ. Heaven would be his day, not Joni’s day. And glorified hands and feet, as well as happy reunions with loved ones, I mean, all these things, all of them, began to look more like fringe benefits to the honor of simply being on the invitation list to Christ’s coronation party. Finally, the focus got off myself, and I got fixed on Christ and that glorious Day he’d be crowned the undisputed Lord and champion of the universe, the King of Kings.
And this is why I desire that better country. Right now, the world does not see Jesus as the undisputed champion. Right now, his name is belittled, maligned. And it is a sad, sorry, broken, and deeply fallen world and so, I am all about that glorious day when Christ will rule in heaven and on earth, and we will live in a home of righteousness. This is what captivates me about heaven. To be honest, I’ve become so captivated by it, that I just wrote a book about it – it is for children to help them see that heaven is not about cool stuff they’ll receive or getting to eat chocolate chip pancakes all day. No, I want boys and girls to understand the truth about heaven, and what the Bible has to say about it. And so, I have distilled all the things I’ve ever learned about our eternal home, and I wove them into my new children’s book called “The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party.” It's a true story about Jesus and his heavenly kingdom – no fanciful myths about heaven; only what the Bible says! ‘Cause I want kids to grasp God’s truth about our glorious destiny and how to prepare for it!
Hey, I’d love to tell you more about “The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party,” so visit Joniradio.org today to learn how you can help the young ones in your life desire that better country. Because heaven has nothing to do with scarfing down chocolate chip pancakes, and then getting an eternal stomachache. Heaven is about Jesus. So, together, let’s spread the truth, the joyous, happy truth about heaven and all that God has in store. Find out more at Joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends