Advent Devotional - December 14

December 14 Heaven

“The blessings of His heaven”

Pray

Help me to reach beyond the stars, Lord, and to comprehend the limitless eternity that is Your love. May I find, in Christ, the answer to all my searching, the doorway to Your heaven, which is my home. Amen.

Read – John 6:33

“For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

Reflect

There is a kind of progression in the idea of heaven in the Old Testament. “Heaven” could mean “the sky,” the place where eagles soar and of which men could only dream. “Heaven” could also mean the firmament, the vast expanse of the night, wrapping the land like a blanket, through which the stars shine. Or, “heaven” could refer to the place, far above all others, where God resides. This is the “third heaven”. We know it as a place of unparalleled beauty, where those who have died in the Lord await the final resurrection and the end of all things.

Many people have attempted to describe heaven. All have failed. Even the imagery of the Bible is inadequate, because it uses earthly language for an experience beyond our imagination. There is really only one thing that we can say about heaven, and that is that God is there. When, by grace through faith, we get there, we will not notice whether the streets are paved with gold. Precious jewels will have no value for us there, beyond their appearance. What will matter will be that we have received an invitation to the banquet feast of the Lamb. Together with all those who, through the ages, have trusted in His mercy, we will know the blessedness of simply being in the presence of our God. For the Christian, hope rises beyond where eagles fly, beyond the stars. The hope of heaven resides, ultimately, not in a place but in a person, in Jesus Christ our Lord.