What Are You Waiting For?

I went down to the basement so I could walk the dogs this morning.

My oldest son, Jared, sleeps in the basement. He likes the solitude. And the dogs sleep down there with him so I have to go down there to get them. Jared likes to watch television late at night. Usually, he falls asleep with the TV on and I shut if off when I go down to walk the dogs. I’m not sure what channel he watches, but it is almost always showing infomercials when I get downstairs.

This morning, the infomercial was for a cycling exercise machine and video. The young lady that was talking said, “When I die and go to heaven, I hope they have ________ there.” Really? Those of us who are Christians and believe in heaven know that when we die and go there it means for eternity. Now, I’m not sure how great a grasp you have on eternity but it’s a lot longer than the average lifespan. Think about it, the United States was formed in 1776 which was 235 years ago. That would be about four of the average human life spans. If you go back to 1492 (when Christopher Columbus discovered America), that’s six and a half times the average life span. The death of Jesus is twelve times the average life span. I like the way the hymn “Amazing Grace” puts it:

“When we’ve been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun, we’ve no fewer days to sing God’s praise then when we’d first begun.”

Now think of eternity, it doesn’t end, EVER! And this woman wants to pedal a stationary bicycle all that time? Really? Well, that got me thinking. How much do we really know about what we’re going to do after we die? And how prepared are we to do whatever it is we’re going to do? See, here’s the problem, no one but Jesus has “been there, done that”.

When I moved from Texas to California it was a very exciting time for me. I had moved away from home some years before and moved around Texas a little. But this was a really big move for me. I was headed out there with my then fiance and was looking forward to seeing new things. But I have to be honest, I had no idea what I was going to do once I got there. San Diego is a lot bigger than it looks in the Rand/McNally maps and we didn’t have online maps at the time. I ended up sponging off my fiance until I got a job at one of the banks. But it wasn’t just the job situation that got me. California is very, very different from Texas culturally. I had been living in Dallas (big city) and moved to San Diego (big city). I figured there can’t be too much difference, right?

If I had known about these differences, I probably would have studied up on some of the stuff I needed to know so that I would fit in a little better. Eventually, I fit in as much as anyone “fits in” to a place. Got rid of the cowboy boots and wearing jeans everyday even when it’s 80 degrees. And I stopped eating Tex/Mex food for breakfast and starting eating a little healthier. You see, it’s where I thought I was going to be for a long time, so I learned how to be part of the “family”. But it wasn’t to be. Just a few years later (ok, 10 years later) I dragged my wife and our boys who were all born and raised in San Diego completely across country to Virginia. Again, I knew nothing about the customs and ended up taking some time to fit in. If only I had known what I was going to do here BEFORE I came, I could have prepared myself a little better and the transition would have been a little smoother for the family.

So, how many of you are going to heaven? If you’re not sure, read John 3:16 and you’ll figure it out. Ok, so what are you going to do there? Hey, you’ve got an advantage because you know where you’re going. You can learn about the customs and be ready when the time comes. So what are you going to do there? There’s a song that came out a couple of years ago called “Big House” by Audio Adrenaline. The words to the chorus go like this:

It's a big, big house with lots and lots of room A big, big table with lots and lots of food A big, big yard where we can play football A big, big house It’s my Father’s house Sounds really good, unless you’re not a football fan. I would guess the yard is big enough for other things, too. Jesus tells his disciples in John 14,

“In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. 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.”

So it looks as if there’s going to be a place for us. But what will we do when we get there? Will we just be hanging out for all eternity without any purpose? Seems to me that if that was the plan, then there would be no reason for heaven, huh? We might as well just become part of the Earth again, as many non-Christians believe. In Revelations John writes:

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!” After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “ Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Wow! That sounds great, doesn’t it? Especially that last part about not being hungry or thirsty. For me, the best part is “the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat…” I’m a winter man myself. My wife loves being at the beach, but I have to cover every inch of my body with some clothing or I burn like crazy. Too many times have I put up with sun poisoning because of this baby soft skin!

I asked a high school class once what they thought it would be like in heaven. One of the quieter kids spoke up, much to my surprise. He said he wasn’t sure exactly what he would be doing in heaven but he knew he would “feel no more pain, of any kind” because it says God will wipe away every tear. And he told me he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to feel no pain at all physical, mental or emotional. I hadn’t thought of it that way and I had to admit it caught me off guard. I started to think of all the “pains” that I had felt in the past or was feeling right there and then. To know that all that would be gone. What would that be like? Wow, God really is awesome. But what we also learn is that we will be worshiping God, expressing our love for Him and our devotion to Him. So I put it to you, why not start now? We know what we are going to do and we know how to do it. Clearly the passage tells us that we will be “standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” So why not start now? What are you waiting for?

I know you pray. Maybe not as often as you would like to, or as long as you would like to, but I know that you pray. How many of you, however, pray the way we’re going to be praying for all eternity? How many of you use the prayer time for worship? Or is it just a time to ask God for things and tell Him about how badly life is going for you? When the apostles asked Jesus to teach them to pray, His prayer began with “Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…” First things first, understand that your Father is holy and should be praised and worshiped. But how many of us start our prayers that way? You want to feel filled with the power of the Holy Spirit? The next time you enter into prayer time, put yourself aside and spend the entire time praising God. It is one of the most powerful and wonderful experiences you’ll ever have. Benefit? God will be pleased, too. And you’ll be practicing for things to come. Once you have been able to truly put yourself aside at prayer time, you’ll understand why spending the rest of eternity praising and worshiping God is something to desire. Psalm 42:1

“As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God.”

What are you waiting for?