Heaven, such a fascinating concept. To be spiritually alive after physical death in a beautiful, wonderful place. I’ve known heaven was a reality ever since I can remember. We would talk about it when loved ones would go there, and church and school both taught me the Scriptures about this wonderful place.
But what is heaven like, really?
I’ve heard a lot of nonbelievers say it’s really a boring place, where you sit around and play a harp all day. I don’t believe that, even though I’ve always wanted to play a harp.
I’ve heard other beliefs that heaven is about gratification, about having lusts fulfilled for eternity. I don’t believe that either. Because heaven is not about physical gratification. It’s about Jesus.
A song that I came across a few years ago really captures my feelings and hopes about heaven. “Tin Roof” by Chris Tomlin, featuring Blessing Offor, is a beautiful worship song that prompts feelings of warmth and nostalgia every time I hear it.
I’ve always loved sleeping under a tin roof when it’s raining. It’s like nature’s lullaby. Something about that sound combines happy memories with the feeling of safety, and it makes me sleep like a baby.
That’s what the song “Tin Roof" means to me, the wish for heaven to be warm and safe, a place filled with comfort and all the other positive feelings I’ve ever felt.
But will it be? Is that an accurate description of what God has prepared for us?
No more anxiety. No more loneliness. Perfect love like I’ve never known it before.
I Corinthians 2:9 (NLT) says “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
The song “Tin Roof” captures the essence of all the emotional safety and well-being we want heaven to be. God is love. In him is peace and security. So, on the one hand, yes, heaven is like “Rain on a Tin Roof.” But that’s not all.
See, what the Apostle Paul says in I Corinthians 2:9, and what Jesus says in John 14:1-3, is that he’s prepared a place for us, beyond what we can ever imagine. I imagine heaven to be a place of belonging, of acceptance.
When I think of seeing Jesus, I think of falling into his arms and belonging with him forever. I think of communion with so many others who love him. No more anxiety. No more loneliness. No more misunderstanding or miscommunication. Perfect love like I’ve never known it before. I would guess that every believer has a hope of what heaven is like, and Jesus knows those hopes. I’m not saying heaven is like a “choose your own adventure” story, but I do wonder if Jesus takes those wishes we have and transfers them into our heavenly experience in a way that only he can do.
So, heaven is more, abundantly more than "rain on a tin roof"! Whatever we can ask or imagine is compounded many, many times over. And the main reason for this, is that Jesus, the glorified Jesus, is there. And we will be with him forever and ever. Amen.