I am amazed daily by the unbelievable grace that we have been provided through the birth of Jesus Christ, that we will be celebrating on this Saturday, December 25, 2010.
This week our pastor spoke about the ultimate Christmas gift and he referred to 2 Corinthians 9:15:
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Last night I woke up early and it gave me a little more time to reflect on this verse. Think about what God did when He sent Jesus down to earth to DIE for our sins.
Prior to that happening, we were all condemned to eternal death. Separated from our heavenly Father. And then in a most gracious, unselfish act He sent His son, Jesus down to this earth as a sacrifice for our sins. His blood being the bridge between God and us, if we only accept it!
This morning I was thinking about eternity in heaven and I was trying to relate it to something that I had experience in my life. Remembering that His gift is indescribable, I believe, according to the Bible, there were only three people who went to heaven and came back to earth and walked with the living, Jesus, Lazarus and Paul. I can’t imagine that they could describe heaven in any manner that we would be able to comprehend.
As I was thinking about it this morning, there were only two times in my life when I felt that I had experienced heaven on this earth.
The first time was around January 1997, it was a snowy evening and everyone was home safe. I was on the floor with my children, Josh and Ashleigh. Josh was 5 and Ashleigh wasn’t even a year old yet but she was starting to stand and waddle around. Well me and Josh started wrestling and Ashleigh decided to get involved. We were laughing and the love from that moment was so strong that I felt a state of bliss that I wished could have lasted FOREVER!!!
The second time was on a cruise in the Caribbean, while I was getting a massage and I actually experienced floating above my body during this massage.
As these were unique experiences for me, it is very hard to describe them to others, which is what I can only imagine of heaven.
There were a few things that both of these experiences had in common though:
1. I had no worries. I was not worried about anything during both of these experiences. Not worried about money, where my next meal was coming from, not worried about what was going on at work, what anyone was thinking about me. Nothing!!!!
2. I was at peace. Looking back now, if I were to die at that moment, the only thing I would have worried about would have been if I was saved or not. Other then that if I were to pass at either one of those moments, I would have felt complete.
3. I wish the feeling would have lasted forever. During both of those events, the feeling that I was experiencing was so wonderful, I was wishing that it would last forever.
As these two events definitely mark a wonderful feeling in my life, I know that they will pale in comparison to what heaven will be like.
Do you have a moment in your life that you that wish would have lasted forever? Well think about that feeling and multiple it by infinity. And I don’t think that would even describe heaven or the wonderful gift that God has provided us.
If you haven’t accepted your gift yet, now may be the time!
Here is a quick video that I think brings everything about Christmas into perspective:
As Always, Here’s to Your LifetoSuccess,
God Bless You,
John Clark