Earth vs. Heaven

We sang a song with the following lyrics in church on Sunday:

On that day when I see
All that You have for me
When I see You face to face
There surrounded by Your grace

All my fear is swept away
In the light of your embrace
When Your love is all I need
And forever I am free

Where the streets are made of gold
In Your presence healed and whole
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

In this life I will stand
Through my joy and my pain
Knowing there's a greater day
There's a hope that never fails

When Your name is lifted high
And forever praises rise
For the glory of Your Name
I'm believing for the day

When the wars and violence cease
All creation lives in peace
Let the songs of heaven rise to you alone

Perhaps you know it.  Perhaps you also sing it at your church.  It's a beautiful song about the promise of a Heaven that is perfection, paradise, constant focus on God and almost a restoration of innocence.


Let's take a look at that chorus again:

No weeping, no hurt or pain
No suffering You hold me now
You hold me now
No darkness no sick or lame
No hiding You hold me now,
You hold me now

I was struck this week as I sang this song about the painfully stark contrast between our reality and what heaven will be according to songs like this as well as what is presented in scripture and taught by Christ Himself.


Our existence is messy.  It's rotten.  It's deceitful.  It's hurtful.  It's scary.  It's broken.


Everyone experiences this to a greater or lesser degree and the stories of human suffering are endless.


We go through something miserable or we hear of a loved one or even a stranger going through something horrible, and we often ask "Why?", then if we know God and trust His sovereignty, cry out to Him for help and ask for His grace to help us get through or to change the situation.  Everything has a season, and our times of struggle come and go, because nothing lasts forever.  But there will be someone else in a day or month or year or two struggling again through something - or maybe us, and the process of dealing with it repeats itself.


I could make a long list right now of things that I am or have struggled with or that people in my life are facing right now.  Serious, messy, nasty issues.


I guess when I sing a song like this and compare it to heaven, I am struck by the depravity of our world.  When you hold up something so overall filthy and compare it to something perfect and spotless, you see how great the difference is.


Let's think about Heaven, shall we?  If what the words of this song say are true and if the scripture on this topic can help us understand it, what are some things we can gloriously look forward to?




No shame for our secret sins that we don't want our loved ones to know or God to find out.

No pain of losing someone to death.  No loss.

No betrayal.

No longing for something different.

No depression.

No anger that lashes out and hurts others.

No loneliness.

No physical illness, pain, or suffering.

No worrying and obsessing about the future.

No fear of anything.

No hatred or bitterness.

No perversion of truth.

No separation from God.

No misunderstanding of God's love for us.


Such a difference.  Just something to chew on - especially if you are in the middle of something hard right now.  You are loved!