Earthly pleasures never quite satisfy; but heaven’s pleasures will. They’ll just keep getting better. You may get bored easily on earth, but in heaven boredom will happily be a thing of the past.
Hi, I’m Joni, with a question about heaven that I bet you’ve asked.
Welcome to Sharing Hope, where, as you know, I love talking about heaven. Over the years, I’ve had many conversations with Christians about heaven, and I’ve noticed, that there’s one issue lots of people are concerned about. They wonder if, after, oh, say, a few decades, heaven will become boring. Like you know, singing the same worship song Sunday after Sunday, until you think, “Man, I hate to admit it, but I’m getting a little tired of this. I mean, this is really boring.” Have you ever thought that? I know I have.
So, it’s a good question – will the ecstasy of heaven go on forever? Is it true we will never become bored? Will it really be as glorious as the Bible insists? Well, first, the Bible answers that in Psalm 16:11 where it says, "[God], You have made known to me the path of life; you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." Did you catch that? When we arrive in heaven and enter the very presence of God, the Bible tells us pleasure and joy will be eternal. In other words, there will be constantly new pleasures, new and exciting and never-before-experienced joys day after day. And rather than be boring, heaven will just keep getting better and better and better.
And so, down here on earth God sprinkles little hints of heaven to give us an inkling, just a small glimpse, of how pleasurable heaven will be. I catch a bit of heaven in magnificent sunsets that leave me breathless. I hear it in the haunting strains of the theme song to “Castaways” – that movie, or in the strains of Dvorak's “New World Symphony.” I recognize heaven in the soft gaze of someone I love. I smell it in the ocean air when dark, gray clouds rumble in the distance. If these aren’t mere glimpses and omens, whispers and hints of heaven, oh, what will the real thing be like? How glorious it will be!
C. S. Lewis wrote [and listen closely; his language is a bit challenging, but this is what he writes], he says, "The faint, far-off results of those energies which God's creative rapture implanted in matter when he made the worlds, are what we now call physical pleasures; and even thus filtered, they are too much for our present management. What would it be to taste at the fountainhead that stream of which even these lower reaches proves to be so intoxicating? Yet that, I believe, is what lies before us [in heaven]. The whole man is to drink joy from the fountain of joy. But that’s in the future. Now, in the light of our depraved appetites we cannot even imagine this."
Friend, every beautiful sunset, every breathtaking symphony, every exhilarating taste of salt air in the ocean is not merely for your present inspiration. It is a God-sent gift to whet your appetite for the banquet to come in heaven. Earthly pleasures never quite satisfy; but heaven’s pleasures will. What’s more, they’ll just keep getting better. We will be surprised by joy, and we’ll discover new delights every time we turn around. Friend, heaven will be anything but boring. In heaven, as the ages roll by, we will keep getting smarter, we’ll keep getting wiser, we’ll keep getting younger, and happier. The unfolding of the story of redemption is so astounding, it’s so amazing, it’s gonna take all of eternity to grasp it – it’ll have us taking one gasp after another. And our joy and amazement will be ever-increasing. Hey, look, you may get bored easily on earth, but in heaven boredom will happily be a thing of the past.
© Joni and Friends