The Bible talks about heaven over five hundred times, with details about our eternal home. Shortly before He returned to heaven, Jesus comforted His disciples by saying, ‘In My Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you. And…I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also’ (vv. 2-3 NKJV). The Greek term translated ‘place’ in verse 2 is ‘topos’, which refers to a specific and locatable place. Heaven is a real, physical place, where we will one day live with Jesus and our redeemed loved ones. And God has set inside each of our hearts a hunger for heaven (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). During World War II, Franklin Roosevelt had a difficult time travelling among the troops because of his disability, so his wife, Eleanor, took his place. She actually became a favourite of the soldiers. She sent cables and letters back to the president, serving as his eyes and ears. On one trip to the Pacific, she invested an evening in chatting with a group of soldiers, and afterward told her husband they had only one thought on their minds – the longing to finish the battle so they could return home. That’s how God’s redeemed children feel about heaven. We’re deployed on planet Earth, but our assignment is only temporary. The psalmist said, ‘Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever’ (Psalm 23:6 NKJV). That’s what we are anticipating, isn’t it? Living in the house of the Lord forever.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.