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by Max Lucado
You will be you at your best forever. Even now you have your good moments. Occasional glimpses of your heavenly self.
When
you change your baby’s diaper, forgive your boss’s temper, tolerate your
spouse’s moodiness, you display traces of saintliness.
It’s
the other moments that sour life. Tongue, sharp as a razor. Moods as
unpredictable as Mount Saint Helens. This part wearies you.
Just think what Satan has taken from you, even in the last
few hours.
You
worried about a decision and envied someone’s success, dreaded a conversation
and resented an interruption.
He’s
been prowling your environs all day, pickpocketing peace, joy, belly laughs,
and honest love. Rotten freebooter.
But
his days are numbered. Unlike he did in the Garden
of Eden, Satan will not lurk in heaven’s gardens. “There shall be
no more curse” (Revelation 22:3 NKJV).
He
will not tempt; hence, you will not stumble. You will be you at your best
forever!
Christ will have completed his redemptive work. All gossip
excised and jealousy extracted.
He
will suction the last drop of orneriness from the most remote corners of our
souls. You’ll love the result.
No
one will doubt your word, question your motives, or speak evil behind your
back. God’s sin purging discontinues all strife.
No
sin means no thieves, divorce, heartbreak, and no boredom. You won’t be bored
in heaven, because you won’t be the same you in heaven.
Boredom
emerges from soils that heaven disallows.
The
soil of weariness: our eyes tire. Mental limitations: information overload
dulls us. Self-centeredness: we grow disinterested when the spotlight shifts to
others. Tedium: meaningless activity siphons vigor.
But Satan will take these weedy soils to hell with him,
leaving you with a keen mind, endless focus, and God-honoring assignments.
We might serve in the capacity we serve now. Couldn’t
earthly assignments hint at heavenly ones?
Architects
of Moscow might draw blueprints in the new Liverpool. We will feast in heaven;
you may be a cook on Saturn.
God
filled his first garden with plants and animals. He’ll surely do the same in
heaven. If so, he may entrust you with the care and feeding of an Africa or
two.
One thing is for sure: you’ll love it. Never weary, selfish,
or defeated. Clear mind, tireless muscles, unhindered joy.
Heaven
is a perfect place of perfected people with our perfect Lord.
From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
From 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Max Lucado is a preacher with a storyteller's gift
— a pastor's heart and a poet's pen. Max's message is simple: God loves you;
let him. Max serves the people of Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas. He
preaches and writes to the hurting, the guilty, the lonely, the
discouraged.
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