Not Happy In Heaven? # 2

Not Happy In Heaven? # 2

But now comes a yet more solemn question. Who reigns in Heaven? God. The chief happiness of Heaven will be to be with God, to see Him face to face, to be always in His presence, and to be always doing His will. When the Lord Jesus wished to comfort His disciples, He said, "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:2-3). It was the best comfort they could have - to know that they would see Him again and be with Him forever, because they loved Him.

Do you love Him? If not, you would not be happy in Heaven. For, even here below, to be always with a person whom we do not love - to live with him, to see him all day and every day, to be constantly under his eye and subject to his power - this would be anything but happiness!

How than could you be happy in Heaven, if you do not love God? You would not be happy there - you could not be. The very thing that would fill every other soul with unspeakable joy, would make you miserable. The presence of God that would give them such gladness as they never knew on earth - would only make you tremble. The eye which they would love to have resting on them - would fill you with fear. Like the guilty pair in the garden, you would wish to hide yourself from the presence of the Lord God (Genesis 3:8). Oh, reader, if you have no love to God on earth - then you would have none in Heaven; and then Heaven would be no place of happiness to you.

You cannot deny this. And yet you have a kind of feeling that, somehow or other, death and the resurrection will make such a change in you that you would then be happy in in Heaven - though you could not be happy there as you now are. Have you not some feeling of this sort?

No doubt, death and the resurrection will make a change - but not such a change as you suppose. They who now love God - will love Him better than. They who hate sin now - will then be set free from it; never will it vex or grieve them again. Those who now wish and strive to serve God, will serve Him perfectly in Heaven. And those who delight in public worship and in private prayer and yet are often troubled with wandering thoughts and cold hearts, will have no such troubles in the worship of Heaven. They will be so changed that they will be able to serve Him day and night in His temple" without weariness! They will desire no rest and no relief. They could not serve Him so now.

There will be a change therefore. But what sort of change? Only a change from a little - to a great deal of the same thing; from wishing - to being able; from striving - to doing. The person in Heaven will be of the same mind as he was upon earth; he will care for the same things and take pleasure in the same employments. Only he will be perfect there, and all that he will do and say and think will be good, whereas now he only wishes and strives that it may be so.

But death will not make such a change as to turn people from unholy, into holy people; from people who never cared for God at all, into people who love Him perfectly; from people who loved sin and scoffed at the good and seldom or never prayed, into people who delight in being with God and saints and angels forever. Death will make no change as this! Our Lord said, "Where your treasure is - there will you heart be also" (Matt. 6:21). So if a man's treasure is in Heaven - then his heart will be in Heaven already. If Heaven be the home to which he is going and for which he is longing - then there will be much that is heavenly in his heart and life even now.

No! Do not deceive yourself with any such thought! Death will make a great change - but it will make no such change as you imagine. If Heaven would not be a happy place to you, supposing you to be taken there now, in a moment, just as you are - then you would not be happy there, if at any time you were to die in your present state and find yourself there. No impenitent sinner, no unconverted person - would be happy in Heaven.

You must seek a change now, a thorough change, a new heart. Think no more of being changed somehow at death or after death, so as to be made fit for Heaven - but ask God to change you NOW. Surely you must see that you need a great change. The very fact that Heaven itself would be no place of happiness to you as you are - must show you how greatly you need to be changed. If you were to be save by Christ and your sins should be forgiven, and you should learn to hate sin and to love God and to delight in prayer and praise - then you would begin to be happy even here; and then you would feel and know that Heaven would be a happy place to you indeed.

Oh, be persuaded to seek salvation at once. What you need above all things, is the work of the Holy Spirit in your heart to turn you, change you, convert you, sanctify you. Man cannot do this work; it is the work of God alone. 

Jesus came and died on the Cross for sinners! Will you not listen to Him? He alone can make you happy! If you go on refusing His offers, you cannot be saved; and you reach at last the miserable end. Seek Him as your Saviour - then He will indeed be a Saviour to you. He will give you a peace and happiness which the world will never give - and He will take you at last to that place which He has gone ahead to prepare - a place which you will find happy indeed - happy beyond what eye has seen, or ear heard, or heart conceived!

~Francis Bourdillon~

(The End)