Heaven - Eternity of Surprises

April 7, 2007 - Saturday

Category: Religion and Philosophy

Today, after a long and stressful week, I decided to do some mountain driving in North Georgia, not too far from where my parents live. Somehow God seems more real to me when I'm surrounded by nature in all its spring glory. I was enjoying the ride just fine, and then, all of the sudden, out of nowhere, there was a little sign that said "Chapel By the Creek", and there it was--a little stone and wood structure on a small knoll next to the creek. I stopped to take a look, wondering how it got out here in the middle of nowhere in the mountains. Several Bible verses were engraved on the cement benches inside and outside of the structure, and as I read them, and paused to reflect, I was overwhelmed with a sense that God was meeting a desire in my heart that I wouldn't have even been able to name prior to discovering it. It's kind of hard to explain that sensation, but it was like God had prepared this place just for me, and somehow, though I thought I was just wandering through the mountains, He had brought me out to this place at this exact time because He knew it would speak to my heart in a unique way that only He and I could understand, but words couldn't explain. That's how well He knows me, and how much He loves me.

One reason I can't wait for Heaven is because I think it will be a lot like this experience. Heaven will be full of special surprises that will speak to our hearts in a unique way, overwhelming us again and again with the realization of our Father's love and intimate knowledge of us. Sometimes when I feel a strange longing for a scenic mountain-peak view, or when a beautiful song stirs my heart in a way I can't really explain, I like to think that they are whispers of Heaven, a glimpse at a desire God has already placed in my heart that will only be completely understood there.

"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." --C.S. Lewis