Great Interest in the Afterlife⤒🔗

Despite the fact that we live in a materialistic age, at least in our Western culture, there is considerable interest in, if not fascination with, life after death. Books with titles such as Embraced by the Light and Caught up unto Paradise attract many readers, while TV programs dealing with the angelic world and other supernatural themes receive high ratings. There seems to be an irrepressible and instinctive awareness in people that this life is not all there is. This can only be explained in terms of what Scripture says, namely that "God has put eternity in their hearts" (Eccles. 3:11).

A Superficial Interest←⤒🔗

Yet for all the interest the masses show in the afterlife, particularly in heaven, there is no indication that their lives are impacted by it in any significant way. It certainly makes no difference in their lifestyle. The thought of going to heaven after death is a pleasant one, but any idea that this happy prospect places certain ethical demands on them does not seem to enter people's minds.

The Situation Among Christians in General←⤒🔗

But while we can expect this kind of attitude from the world, the situation in the church is not all that different. One would think that among professing Christians the subject of heaven is discussed frequently and in great depth. After all, the Bible, especially the New Testament, contains numerous references to heaven. Yet we find that heaven is barely mentioned in most theological textbooks. For instance, L. Berkhof devotes only one of 784 pages to this subject in his Systematic Theology, at the very end of his treatment of eschatology or the Doctrine of the Last Things (p.737). Surveys indicate that heaven does not fare much better on the pulpit, and when believers get together socially they rarely discuss the life to come and the prospect of going Home.

The Situation Among Us←⤒🔗

How is that among us, I wonder? As far as I can tell, we don't hear much discussion about heaven either. It seems we have forgotten that justification does not only bring us the blessings of acquittal of guilt and forgiveness of sins, but also the right to eternal life. Sure, we talk about heaven when our God-fearing grandmother dies and goes to be with the Lord. But do we not hope to go there too, maybe sooner than we think? Of course, if we are not ready to meet the Lord we will avoid the subject of heaven, but I am now talking about those who may have a good hope through grace. Why do we think of heaven only as something far into the future, after we have lived our life and are approaching the end?

When we make plans to visit a foreign country we try to get as much information about it as we can. Even if we won't spend more than a week or two there, we like to have some idea of what to expect. Before I as a lad of 16 went with my parents to Canada I was curious and tried to find out a few things about the country where I was going to live, probably for the rest of my life. I was excited and could hardly wait to get there. Why is it, then, that so many Christians don't seem to be very interested in the heavenly country that will be their home forever?

Reasons for this Paradox←⤒🔗

One reason why we pay so little attention to heaven above is that we are far too preoccu­pied with life here below. Another reason, closely related to the former, is that we are quite comfortable in this world. Compared with most people living in Third World countries we are reasonably well off, healthy and happy. For most of us life is sweet and interesting and therefore we are not all that eager to exchange what we have now for what awaits us later, despite the apostolic assurance that "to depart and be with Christ (will be) far better" (Phil. 1:23).

It is only when tragedy strikes that we are jolted back to reality and forced to think about eternity. A loved one becomes seriously ill. Death is near. All of a sudden heaven (and hell!) are no longer abstractions but awesome realities. Mother speaks of her desire to be with Jesus. Her children are greatly relieved. Her sufferings will soon be over. Finally she dies. Everybody is moved to tears. How wonderful that she is Home! The funeral sermon is positive and uplifting and rightly so, for when a believer falls asleep in Jesus, God ought to be praised for His saving grace and pardoning love. We all go home encouraged and thankful.

But soon everyday life with its demands and concerns swallows us up again. Our thoughts of heaven and eternity are put on the back burner or rather, shelved until we need to reflect on them once more. Especially those who are young and busy raising families and making a living, cannot be expected to dwell on such end-of-life concerns.

Heavenly-Mindedness←⤒🔗

Previous generations of Christians were not like that. Their lives reflected much more of a pilgrim spirit. Their view of the world may be summed up by the phrase, "This world is not my home; I'm simply passing through." They did not wait till the end of their life to start thinking of heaven. They strove to be heavenly-minded early, in mid-life, as well as old age. They did not just believe this was possible or attainable, but they were convinced this was necessary. The Puritans certainly insisted on this. Heaven, they said, needs to be in the Christian now, before the Christian can be in heaven after death. Thomas Brooks, one of the greatest Puritan authors, wrote a book entitled Heaven on Earth, in which he explains how Christians may be so assured of their salvation that they experience the joys of heaven long before they actually get there. In the Preface he states:

To be in a state of true grace is to be miserable no more; it is to be happy forever. A soul in this state is a soul near and dear to God ... It is a soul housed in God ... safe in the everlasting arms ... The being in a state of grace will yield a man a heaven hereafter, but the seeing of him­self in this state will yield him both a heaven here and a heaven hereafter (emphasis mine, C.P.), it will render him doubly blest, blest in heaven, and blest in his own conscience ... To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side of heaven..." (Emphasis mine, C.P.).The Works of Thomas Brooks, Vol. 2, p.316.

Here we have the real reason why so few of us are focused on heaven and the glory that awaits us when we die. It is because we are not, or not enough, heavenly minded. Again, I am not speaking here of the unconverted. It goes without saying that they cannot dwell on heaven because they are not fit to live there. They need the new birth in order to see and enter the kingdom of God or heaven (John 3:3,5).

Heaven: A Present Reality←⤒🔗

Those who have experienced the second birth and are joined to Christ by faith, not only will go to heaven but they are there already in principle, as Paul writes: "He (God) hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:6). The apostle does not mean that the Ephesian believers were actually in heaven, for in that case he would not have addressed his letter to them in Ephesus. But since Christ has obtained salvation for them, they are as good as in heaven. That is the believer's position, if not always his condition, by virtue of his union with Christ.

When this fact is laid hold of by faith, it can give a child of God a real foretaste of heaven. And the closer his condition approaches his position, the greater that foretaste will be. In a sermon on 1 Timothy 6:12, "Lay hold on eternal life," Spurgeon urged his fellow believers to "often anticipate the joys of heaven," and he added, "I think you and I do not go to heaven often enough." Anticipating the objection that we can only go there after we have died, he said, "Yes, if you are a believer in Christ, that is secure; but why not go there now?" (Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Vol.37, p.537).

What Spurgeon meant was that a Christian lives in two worlds at the same time. Our experience of God here and now, and later in heaven, is continuous and differs only in degree and intensity. The clear implication is that if we are to have the full experience of heaven later, we must have a taste of it now. "What comfort do you take from the article of 'life everlasting,'?" our Catechism asks in Q.58. The answer is, "That since I now feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, after this life, I shall inherit perfect salvation."

I'm afraid that today we are far removed from this emphasis on heavenly-mindedness. Part of the reason for this is that we have lost the art of meditation. We live so fast; everything is done in a hurry. Preaching must be short, to the point and action oriented. It must also be practical, yes, especially practical. Don't talk too much about heaven and heavenly-mindedness. Tell me how I can improve my marriage. Give me some pointers on how to raise my children. I need help in dealing with my boss, how to control my anger, how to cope with lust. These are all legitimate topics for preachers to address from time to time, certainly. But not at the expense of more weightier matters, such as preparing ourselves for heaven by becoming more and more Christ-like and as a result enjoying more and more fellowship with Him.

Excessive Fear of Presumption←⤒🔗

Here many pulpits come short, including our own. We don't preach very often on heaven and its joys, and I suspect we have, in addition to the reasons stated above, our own motives for treating the subject with caution. We are so afraid of presumption. We don't want the wrong people to go home thinking they will go to heaven, so we feel constrained to warn them lest they should deceive themselves. While warning is a necessary element in biblical preaching, we also need to be careful that in the process we do not withhold from true believers what they are entitled to hear. The Lord wants His people, both small and great, the weak in faith as well as the strong, to know that He loves them and has a glorious future in store for them. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins" (Isa. 40:1). The apostle Paul, speaking of the Lord's return and the glories that await His redeemed as they meet Him in the air, says, "Wherefore comfort one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).

As Edward Donnelly writes in his book Biblical Teaching on the Doctrines of Heaven and Hell,

By neglecting what the Bible says about heaven we leave ourselves as believers much poorer, weaker and more troubled than we need to be. Most of the teaching about heaven in Scripture is not for evangelism (he means preaching to the unconverted both in and outside the church) but for pastoring the people of God. He explains heaven in his Word primarily for his own children's sake, to help and comfort us, to encourage and strengthen us, to make us more holy, to fill us with joy. The doctrine of heaven is revealed to shine light on your life and mine here and now, to enable us to be better people today and tomorrow. We cheat ourselves if we do not make use of this wonderful teaching. It is an immense blessing to know more about heaven. And we can know. We do not need to be left in the dark (p. 69).

"As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit" (1 Cor. 2:9).