The two motivations behind this short post are:
1) a friend’s question on face-book this week: “Christian, could you be happy with heaven if Christ was not there?”
2) All the December-happiness-hype.
So then let’s start with motivation #2 illustrated by a few random copy/paste twitters to get us going on a strand of happiness-hopes.
- MissHoneypenny Miss Jane HoneypennyIt is December 4th and I have done my very first happy-because-its-snowing-wiggle-dance for this season
- Happy December 2 everyone!!!
- Happy #25Days of Christmas!!
- Now that it’s finally here, you can see The Santa Clause at 7/6c and kick-off December in the merriest way!
- Happy December beautiful people! Hope it's an amazing month for everyone.
- It's officially the most wonderful time of the year! Happy December, loves! How are you all doing today? Feeling in the holiday spirit
- happy december :) this is the beginning of lots of christmas movies & yummy hot chocolate!
- December is such a happy month..
- Dear December, please make my wishes come true. Sincerely, me. Happy December everyone! :D
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It’s 4 December 2011 today – and it’s no secret that we are and will get bombarded with Christmas-expectations in the next 21 days: oh, the hype! The buzz, the build-up are quite nice. But do the hopes of these days and and the reality of 25th December measure up? Well….
Let’s ask the same question about Jesus and heaven: will the hopes held out for the Christian be met in the reality of heaven. Infinitely more than our highest hopes!
Back to Stephen’s face-book question:
“Christian, could you be happy with heaven if Christ was not there?”
I have a few notes on heaven, Jesus and happiness and gladly share them with you.
- Heaven is where the glory of Jesus Christ is exalted above all things and where reality is the all-satisfying.
- The most exhilarating, adrenaline-rushed experience on earth will be dead-tame in comparison with gazing at and talking to Jesus Christ.
- Overwhelmed by God’s magnificence, we are going to embrace Him and eat with Him – walk and laugh with Him! We will never lose our fascination with Jesus and beholding His face.
- For now we have to strain our imaginations. The majesty and magnificence of Jesus stagger the most creative imagination!
- We are going to go face-to-face with Jesus. Seeing Him in “high definition”, maximally blessed.
- Who will steal the show millennium after millennium? Jesus. Jesus clothed in pure majesty, glorious in holiness, God on full display.
- The redeemed are going to be eternally awe-struck by His excellence as we marvel at the high and lifted up greatness of God. (In your imagination, hear the Italian redeemed boom, “Manifica!” Viva Jesus! )
- What a sight it’s going to be: seeing Jesus Christ, the Lamb slain for sinners in all His beauty, seeing Jesus exalted at the right hand of God with the scars of battle in His hands.
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Heaven is… total, uninterrupted, incorruptible, happiness and bliss with the Trinity, redeemed and angels. Happiness in heaven without Jesus? Not a chance!
a) Happiness as in December-hype?
b) Happiness as in heaven with Jesus?
Gordon and I vote for “b” with every confidence. Of course we live in time and do not write off the hope to taste something of that future lasting happiness during the build-up to Christmas 2011. Of course there is no guaranteed ban on post-Christmas-blues and disappointments!
So at the beginning of Christmas, while we are enjoying the twinkling lights, food, gifts, people and buzz, we also deliberately remind ourselves/warn ourselves not to lean too heavily on December-happiness for joy. There’s much too much evidence that it does not deliver according to expectations and promises. To lean totally on Jesus and the promised hope of heaven will end in a happiness that busts all imaginations – a hope that will deliver and not disappoint.
