Starting at the beginning is usually the best place to begin a search for the truth. As I have sought to find purpose in my life, I have discovered that one of the most basic Bible stories holds the key. Human life started in the Garden of Eden. And much of what has happened in the world stems from one day when Adam and Even decided to eat the forbidden fruit. While some may believe it to be just a story, I believe the Biblical account in Genesis is the truth. And it has impacted human life ever since that day.
God designed man and women in His image. He created them to live in complete harmony with Him on the earth. As Michael Wittmer points out in his book, Heaven Is a Place on Earth, mankind would have never gone to heaven had it not been for the fall of man. The garden was a paradise. There was peace. There was no sickness, death or disease. God gave man dominion over the earth. But it all changed when man sinned.
As sin infected the DNA of mankind, it also began to unravel the balance that God had originally created on the planet. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:22, "We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." Sin caused death, disease, strife and natural disasters to enter into the world. Before sin, none of these things existed. The land became cursed because of man's sin.
God has given us the ministy of reconciliation as He restores all things to His original design. We play a role in God's restoration work as we execute dominion over the earth and seek to reclaim that which has become tainted by sin There is still plenty of good left in the world and mankind because sin has not completely undone what God made. Yet, every day we must work to take back what the enemy has tried to destroy. Christians should be speaking life instead of death and showing the way to touch eternity by living the best life today.
Many Christians tend to view this life as just a necessary evil that must be endured on the way to heaven. I have asked well-meaning Christians about their lives and heard the following response, "Life's Ok. But I'm just can't wait for heaven. Hopefully, Jesus will return and take us out of here real soon." It's like they have a ticket to enter the Magic Kingdom, and they are just sitting around in a big waiting room. They just can't wait for their number to be called. But I believe that God has a different focus in mind for His people. God put man on the earth to have dominion over it. God put us here to radiate His glory and emulate the kind of life we see that Jesus lived. We are to be active as witnesses of God's truth by how we live every moment.
You may be thinking, "But I thought that God was going to basically destroy the earth with plagues during the tribulation period?" And while it is true that God will unleash horrific plagues and natural disasters in the last days. God only does this to punish sin and call people to repent. He will not completely destroy the world. He is refining it. Eventually, He will restore all things as they should be - a paradise on earth. Today, we can play a part in reclaiming as much of the world and mankind for God as possible. While we may not stamp out sin or stop God's refining fire, that does not eliminate our responsibility to answer God's call.
Many Christians simply have the wrong idea about heaven, earth and God's kingdom. Heaven is not a place where all we will do is float among the clouds playing harps and sing millions of stanzas of the Hallelujah chorus. Will we do some of that? Sure. But heaven is much more than what the common stereotype brings to mind.
For starters, heaven's final resting place is not in the sky but here on earth. Wittmer wrote, "The Christian hopes that our departure from this world is just the first leg of a journey that is round-trip. We will not remain forever with God in heaven, for God will bring heaven down to us. As John explains his vision in Revelation 21:1-4, he 'saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God' to earth, accompanied by the thrilling words, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them...We don't hope merely for the day when we go to live with God, but ultimately for that final day when God comes to live with us."
Heaven is not going to be boring like some people think. It is the most beautiful place imaginable. Heaven will be a paradise where man once again lives by the tree of life verses the tree of knowledge of good and evil. There will be no more sickness, death, disaster or disease. Each person will have a spiritual body that will last forever. The goodness of nature will be fully restored. Peace and harmony will be the norm.
People will rule and reign with Jesus. I imagine us doing the things that we long to do today. We will do great things according to the skills and passion that God has given each one of us. We will do it to God's glory as an act of worship. So if you're a good singer, you will be able to sing without the entanglements of the current world. If you're a writer, you will write with paradise as your back for inspiration. If you like to dance, you will be swifter and move more gracefully than ever. I think you get the idea. We will work without the restraints of the curse placed on the ground after Adam's original sin.
Creativity will flourish. Each day will lead to greater individual growth, fulfillment and discovery of the depths of God's love. When you come to look at it that way, heaven sounds like a happening place to be.
