Revelation 21:3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”

This chapter has various physical descriptions of heaven, the New Jerusalem, but I feel like they are all allegorical, and to me of no great significance. This, however, is the kicker: eternity will be totally with God. Everything else is largely incidental. We tend to get impressed with such things as this huge cube of a city (how do people navigate vertically?) but as many people have discovered even in this life, the physical is meaningless without the spiritual. The longer I live with my Lord, the less important the physical seems to me. The next verse is important too, talking about the elimination of the negatives of life on this earth, but I don’t see how it could be otherwise, because it would be washed away by the overwhelming reality of God’s presence. We imagine all sorts of things about heaven, and the reports of people with Near Death Experiences garner a lot of interest. However, the salient point is that we will be with God and He will be with us. The amazing thing is that we can taste that to a small extent here and now. Anointed worship is indeed the closest thing to heaven!

My feelings on this matter are perhaps most influenced by an experience I had around 30 years ago. I was in a small prayer meeting with three brothers in Christ – a Japanese, a German, and an American – and we had been worshiping the Lord together when the joy and presence of the Lord came on me so strongly that I literally said to Him, in my heart, “Lord, if You have anything more for me to do here, You had better let up a little, because one more drop and My body will give up.” My wife had a Near Death Experience around 50 years ago, and her description of that is certainly inviting, but even that doesn’t compare to the pure, unimpeded Presence of the Lord. I do enjoy life in the here-and-now, but never more than when I am aware that I am walking through it with my Lord. As I wrote yesterday, it all depends on my focus. There is no room for pride or ambition or lust of any sort in His presence, and that presence is more wonderful than anything those things can give me. They are all illusions; God alone is real. I have much more to do here before He lets me enjoy Him totally, and I must not take any of it lightly. I am to delight in His blessings while being faithful in the tasks He gives me, for His glory alone.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for all that is going on around me. Yesterday was a good day, and I’m grateful. May I recognize Your plans for each moment of today and fulfill my part in them faithfully, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!