Redeeming the Time with Our Hearts Fixed on Heaven

In our fast-paced world of instant gratification, we've lost sight of one of Christianity's most powerful motivations: heaven. Many churches today no longer focus on heaven, instead emphasizing getting what we want now. But if we're going to truly redeem the time in these evil days, we must fix our hearts on our eternal home.

Why Have We Stopped Talking About Heaven?

In America especially, we've become a society fixated on instant gratification. We want what we want, and we want it now. This mindset has infiltrated the church, where we rarely hear songs about heaven or sermons that prompt our hearts to prepare for eternity.

Instead, many popular preachers focus on "your best life now" and prosperity messages that promise health, wealth, and success in the present. But this directly contradicts what Scripture teaches. Jesus never promised an easy life here on earth—in fact, He said, "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

The Bible consistently directs our attention not to present comfort but to future glory. We're not promised freedom from tears, pain, and crying in this life—we're promised these things in heaven.

What Makes Heaven So Precious?

Everything that is truly precious to believers is in heaven:

• Our Father is in heaven (Matthew 6:9)
• Our Savior is in heaven (Hebrews 9:24)
• The redeemed (our spiritual family) are in heaven
• Our names are recorded in heaven (Luke 10:20)
• Our inheritance is in heaven (1 Peter 1:4)
• Our citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20)
• Our reward is in heaven (Matthew 5:11-12)
• Our Master is in heaven
• Our treasure is in heaven

With all of this waiting for us, why are we so fixed on this world? Why does this world hold us so tightly? We're supposed to be strangers, pilgrims, and aliens here. As John reminds us, "All that is in the world is passing away."

How Should We View Our Present Suffering?

Paul gives us a powerful perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:8-18. He acknowledges that in this life we are "afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed."

Yet despite these hardships, Paul says, "we do not lose heart." Why? Because "our momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison."

No matter what you're going through, no matter how bad it is or ever gets in this world, it cannot be compared with the glory you will receive in heaven. A little temporal suffering here leads to an eternal weight of glory there.

Where Should Our Focus Be?

Paul instructs us not to look at "the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).

In this earthly body, we groan, burdened by sin, tears, sorrow, sadness, and pain. We're waiting for the day when we'll be clothed with a heavenly body free from these burdens.

Paul even says, "I prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). Can you say that? Most of us can't honestly claim this perspective. We do everything possible to hang on to this life, but if our hope is truly set on heaven, we should be able to say, "Father, if I have to go today, it's fine. I know where I'm going."

What Is Heaven Like?

Heaven appears about 550 times in the Bible. The Bible speaks of three heavens:

1. The atmospheric heaven (the air we breathe)
2. The celestial heaven (outer space with stars and planets)
3. The divine heaven (where God dwells with angels and the redeemed)

This third heaven is God's dwelling place, His abode, His address. Though God is omnipresent, heaven is specifically described as His home. Isaiah 57:15 says, "I dwell on a high and holy place."

Heaven is a new order—a new community of holiness, a new fellowship of harmony with God and Christ. It's a place of joy, peace, holiness, love, and fulfillment.

As believers, we get a foretaste of heaven now through the Holy Spirit who produces in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These qualities will be commonplace in heaven.

The best of all your spiritual experiences—those profound moments when God's presence overwhelms you—will be the normal experience in heaven. Why would we hold so tightly to this world when such glory awaits us?

Jesus prayed, "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory" (John 17:24). Jesus wants us to be with Him in heaven, to behold His glory forever.

Life Application

Take time this week to reset your perspective on heaven. When you find yourself caught up in the worries, pleasures, or pursuits of this world, remember where your true citizenship lies.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What am I holding onto in this world that's preventing me from longing for heaven?
2. How would my daily decisions change if I truly believed that "our momentary light affliction is producing an eternal weight of glory"?
3. What spiritual experiences have given me a "foretaste of glory divine," and how can I cultivate more of these moments?
4. If Jesus is eagerly waiting to present me to the Father, how should that affect my priorities today?

Remember that we are engaged to Jesus—we are the bride awaiting our groom. He has gone to prepare a place for us in His Father's house, and He cannot wait to bring us home. Let this hope transform how you live each day, redeeming the time with your heart fixed on heaven.