The Bible is full of eternity and constantly points us to the last judgment and the great divide between heaven and hell. God has “put eter­nity” in our hearts (Eccles. 3:11), and He calls us to think seriously about where we will spend that eternity. He sent His only­begotten Son, Jesus, to save His people from their sins and bring them to heaven, where there is “a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues” (Rev. 7:9).

The word heaven is referred to some 600 times in Scripture. References to the hope of heaven and the goal of coming to glory in and through saving faith in Jesus Christ are all over the New Testament. But heaven is not given much thought, even by many Christians. They treat it like Social Security–it is something that will be there when you need it, some day, in the distant future. In theory it is our goal, but in practice it is God’s Plan B for our lives. Meanwhile we would just as well stick with Plan A—this life—forever if we could.

A lot of people reject heaven and the hope of heaven as “pie-in-the-sky-by-­and-by.” A. E. Housman, in his poem, “Ho everyone that thirsteth” (a quotation from Isaiah 55:1, which he wearily dismissed in the rest of the poem) says it outright:

The lad that hopes for heaven Shall fill his mouth with mould.

In other words, there is no heaven—only six feet of earth when we die—so get to sinning while you have time!

Contrast this with Paul’s words to the Colossian Christians: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:1–2). Clearly, God means us to think seriously and often about heaven and heaven’s Lord.

Why is this so difficult? Even though most people in America think there is a heaven and that they are going there, there is little evidence of much reflection on the subject beyond these bare assumptions.

Some Common Excuses

Many reasons could be given for neglecting heaven, but here are some of the most commonly expressed excuses.

“Heaven is so weird and other-worldly.” We basically buy the common propaganda that you can be “so heavenly-minded that you’re no earthly use.” Heaven isn’t very practical. It is for later, not for now. Never mind that Scripture actually seems to be teaching the opposite!

“Heaven is sort of boring. We buy the notion of the heaven of the cartoon pages—folks in white robes with haloes, sitting on clouds and playing harps forever. That sounds even more tedious, some might think, than going to church for millions of years.

“Heaven is too hard to think about.” Where is it? How does it function? What do you wear there? What do you do? How do you get there? Sure, Jesus went up to heaven, but it is so mystifying. Besides, we have so much to do right here and now. Let’s think about it later!

The Real Problem

Significant as these questions might be, the real problem is “none of the above.” The real problem is that we are so tied to this life.

The rich man in Jesus’ story in Luke 12:16–21 is a classic case. He was too busy getting rich to think of heaven (or hell) or even God Himself. It is only too easy to “walk by sight” when we should “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7). We are alive, we are healthy, and we have a life to live. This world appeals to us. Death and eternity make us shiver and seem far away anyway; that is, until the day comes, as it will, when, like the rich fool, we will hear God say, “This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12:20).

If this influences the thinking of many Christians, how much more does it characterize the unconverted to whom the claims of Jesus are offensive and the prospects of a short life and facing a righteous Judge just too awful to contemplate? It is a small wonder that, like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, millions just put up the shutters of their hearts and minds and blot out the light of God’s Word that is calling them to think on these things. We have plenty to do, we are happy the way we are, and we will do the “Felix thing” and put it off for a more convenient time—the tomorrow that never comes (Acts 24:25).

Why Is It So Important?

Thinking about heaven really is a “no-­brainer.” When you think about it, the reasons it is important are pretty obvious.

Are you going to live here forever? You know the answer to that one. The question is, it is about where you will spend eternity? When people flocked to John the Baptizer, he got to the point right away when he asked them, “Who warned you to flee the wrath to come?” (Luke 3:7). He then emphasized repentance and the fruits of a holy life. He charged them not to kid themselves that they were right with God because they went through certain religious motions.

Here’s the bottom line: just being born makes you fit for hell; but to be fit for heaven you need to be born again. There is exactly one name “under heaven given among men by which we must be saved,” and that name is Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

Is false hope enough for you? The easiest thing in the world is to trust in a false hope, and to assume, as most people do, that God is too nice to put decent folks like you in hell. Scan the horizon of our culture and you find that universal salvation is the assumption. Dead celebrities, especially, are all (if we are to believe the tearful testimonies of their friends) looking down at us from heaven, however manifestly unbelieving and immoral their lives.

If singing “The Lord’s My Shepherd” at funerals conveyed grace to dead sinners, no one would be lost! It all begs the question people would prefer not to ask: “Was the Lord his Shepherd?” Do the comforts of Psalm 23 and the Lord Jesus Christ apply to all and sundry? The answer of God’s Word is too painfully obvious. But people will cling to false hopes before they cling to Christ Himself.

Don’t You Want To Live And Grow?

Are you already a Christian? Then understand that you will never be more fit to live here and now, than when you are fit to live in heaven. In our human nature, as created, God has put eternity in our hearts, but in our new nature in Christ, he puts heaven in believers’ hearts. We will see how Paul unfolds this in Colossians 3:1–4.

We have a new purpose when we savingly trust in Christ (Col. 3:1–2). We are “raised with Christ” to newness of life, eternal life now! Therefore we can, must, and will focus on the heavenly things of Christ—things above as opposed to earthly things. We also have help, because Christ is “sitting at the right hand of God” and is the King who reigns over the world in the interests of his people (Eph. 1:20–22).

What this adds up to is our calling to a heaven-oriented mindset in which those who are truly united to Christ by faith think heaven, think Jesus, think God, and think eternity in the time in which they live.

Christians therefore have new priorities. “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). Sin as a ruling enslavement died. The “old man” died and earthbound priorities died with him.

Your new life in your soul is with Christ in God. You are a new creation, with a new source of your life, new direction, new motives, new desires, and a new vision for time and eternity to come!

We also have a new promise. Christ is our life. So when He appears at the end of history, we also “will appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4).

What a prospect! This is not heaven as Plan B. This is God’s glory revealed and Christ exalted a Prince and a Savior as He offers up the kingdoms of this world, completely conquered under His feet, to be the kingdom of His God and Father.

This is the real thing, the real goal and glory and eternal destination of the redeemed of the Lord. This is heaven as Plan A—the true and ultimate home of the heart, soul, and mind of the Lord’s believing people. This is the heaven that today is the basis of my world view and the promise of my eternal joy.

God is teaching us to live out of this wonderful future into the present. Paul speaks of the awesome mystery of heaven in 1 Corinthians 2:9–10, quoting Isaiah 64:4 and 65:17: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. He does not stop with the relative ignorance of the Old Testament times, for he goes on to say, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” Thus alive in Christ and walking in the Holy Spirit, the Christian is not only called, but equipped to be so heavenly minded, that he will be of great earthly use.

We need to know more of heaven, more of glory, more of Christ. Let us then seek—and set our minds—on things above, where Christ is, and then we will live and labor in Christ’s kingdom here as those whose home is heaven, even while our home is here.

Gordon Keddie is pastor of the State College, Pa., RPC. He is an author of several Bible commentaries and is a member or the RPCNA Board of Education & Publication.