The Greatness of Heaven

Heaven must be the most incredible of all places.

This morning I was thinking about the verse in 2 Corinthians 4:17, ‘For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…’ 

Light affliction… is there really such a thing?

Today I’m walking around the waiting room at UCD Cancer Center. My sister is in the other room getting her thirteenth, of thirty, radiation treatment. This is not light by any stretch of the imagination. I picked her up early this morning as her two fifth-grade boys and husband Mark were getting ready for their day. They all know full well where mom is going. They also know full well this is the second battle with cancer she is facing. They also know full well that their father, Shelley’s first husband, died of cancer. This is not light affliction…

Like so many people today inside and outside our congregation, people are hurting. There is a ton of affliction going on all around us. The prayer requests I read on Monday and Thursday mornings tells me this is true. The additional prayer requests I get through text and email each week also confirm this. These folks can relate to King David’s words in Psalm 23, ‘…I walk through the valley…’ There are a lot of valley walkers today. Maybe you’re one of them. The path through the valley of affliction seems to be very congested.

But in the midst of hurt there is hope. When Paul wrote to the congregation in Corinth he shared three rays of hope in the midst of affliction. Read the verse again: ‘For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison…’

First, affliction is momentary. It has not come to live with you; it is just a house guest passing through. David did write that he was walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Yes, affliction and pain are difficult elements we all face. But they are momentary.

Secondly, affliction is a factory; it is producing something in our lives and hearts. The Bible says that affliction produces elements like endurance, humility, prayer, character, and trust in God. For some reason we, as human beings, seem to only learn the deep and relevant truths of life when affliction is our tutor.

Thirdly, affliction is rewarded. In the above verse Paul says when we see God face to face there will be glory beyond all comparison. The idea is that afflictions take us downward, but glory lifts us up; affliction brings us low, glory elevates us high. The high is so high that we cannot even compare it with how low the low was. The glory of heaven will be so incredible that it will be incomparable to our worst of days..

Let’s say that your affliction would rate as a -100 on the scale. Zero would be nice and normal, but you’ve been living at negative 50 or 82. Maybe at times it dips to -100. You long to return to zero; a normal life. In your best of days you’ve experienced a positive 65, maybe 75. But these walks through the valley have darkened your remembrance of those positive days. Right now you’re living in the minuses.

When we one day get to heaven we are going to find the place to be 100×100 to the positive. That number is ten thousand. We will be living such an incredible life that the minus days are a distant memory. In fact, life will be so good that there is no way to compare this good with those days of bad. Living -100 is not comparable to living ten thousand.

Whatever you’re going through, please be reminded today that God deeply loves you. He knows your pain and hurt and fear. He understands. Right now, according to John 14:1-4, Jesus is preparing your heavenly residence. It is going to be so wonderful, so exquisite, so glorious that you’ll soon forget these dark days. Our God will be there in His full glory and majesty. You’ll have a new body and a perfect life. This is what gives Paul the confidence to tell us that our struggles are momentary, productive, and rewarded. Hang in there. Keep trusting your heavenly Father. Soon this will all be forgotten as we are ushered into a state of being that is so far beyond comparison.

My sister has just come out of her treatment. I need to get her home to rest.