My youngest came up with this phrase one day while we lived in Southern California. We were driving home and were passing our favorite Dairy Queen, when we decided to stop for a cool treat. After we had ordered our frostys, we got back on the road home (it was a drive thru) all the while licking our delicious cones of silky, creamy, drippy solidified fat. The car was quiet except for the sounds of licking, when my youngest son, who was probably 7 or 8 at the time, piped up and said, "Just think! Heaven is better than this!" Ever since that time, we love to come up with wonderful things in this world, things we are experiencing or things we are admiring, and say, "Just think! Heaven is better than this!"
What are some of your favorite things? Some of my favorites are the sound of the ocean rushing by outside the ship's window, the sweet perfume of a beautiful rose, anything red, the sound of laughter at our dinner table, conversations about the Savior of my soul, conversations with the Savior of my soul, praying with my family, praying with a friend, the smell of something delicious baking in the oven, the colors of the leaves turning in the fall (especially in New England!), the smile on the face of a child, babies blowing raspberries, pristine snow outside my window, the new growth in a garden in the spring, a sweet melody, the sound of a single violin, snow capped mountain peaks, the sound of snow swooshing as you ski down a perfect slope, a rainbow, a double rainbow (I have seen one!), a beautiful painting, puppies with circles around their eyes and spots on their backs. Well just think! Heaven is better than this!
"The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." Psalm 19:1 (NASB)
"And one called out to another and said,'Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts,The whole earth is full of His glory.'" Isaiah 6:3 (NASB)
We are so limited in our perception of God and the Universe. He created the heavens and the earth to show His glory. But we are limited by our own finiteness. God is infinite and so is his creation. We are still discovering new species of animals and new varieties of plant life every day! It seems as though God's creativity is limitless (because it is!). But sadly, while in this world, we are bound by the confines of our own minds. We tend to understand what we can see, or hear, or smell, or touch, but not what remains unseen. When we enter eternity, we will at last know fully just as we also have been fully known.
"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NASB)
"But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him'"— 1 Corinthians 2:9 (ESV)
"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 unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2-3 (KJV)
As beautiful as this world is, it is not "it". We are not to pin our hopes on this world, but instead we are to focus on the next, remembering that this world will pass away and all that is in it. We should invest in the future, laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is there will your heart be also." Matthew 6:19-21
"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ," Philippians 3:20 (NIV)
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:3-9
Dear Lord, Thank you that as beautiful as this world can be, it is still nothing compared to what awaits us in heaven. Let us lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven that our hearts may be in the right place and help us to remember where our true citizenship lies. Help us to keep in mind, as we gaze upon the wonder of this world that, "Heaven is better than this!"
What about you? What amazing things in this world inspire you to say, "Just think! Heaven is better than this!"?
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