What God Has Prepared!
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things that God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
My friend Gus passed away a few weeks ago. Gus was a fellow trout fisherman. Weekends usually found him in his little boat on a nearby lake, casting for fish.
I got a letter from his daughter Heidi the other day. She told me she's been talking about heaven with her grandkids since Gus went home. Her 6 year old grandson, who also loves to fish, explained what Heaven is like and what Great-Grandpa Gus is doing: "It's really beautiful,” he mused, "and Jesus is showing Grandpa Gus where the best fishing holes are."
Isn’t it odd that we know so little about Heaven? Why should we be told almost nothing about our next destination?
Perhaps it’s that we human beings have no categories to comprehend it. On one occasion, when Paul reported his visit to Heaven, words failed him. He saw things that “cannot be told” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). He didn’t mean that it’s improper to speak about Heaven, but that it’s impossible to do so. There are no words by which the facts of Heaven can be imparted to our senses.
But having said that I think the problem lies deeper than mere inadequacy of human language and comprehension. Strange to say, to know more than we know might harm us.
What I mean is this: We might gain a little comfort from knowing the details of Heaven but it would not be the highest comfort, for it is not the knowledge of Heaven that comforts and assures us, but the knowledge of God Himself. Because I know Him and I know how good He is, I can leave this life and everything in it with utter confidence that Heaven will be “a wonderful place, full of glory and grace.” It will be “really beautiful” and Jesus will show me where the best fishing holes are, because, I must say, that’s the sort of God that He is!
DHR
