I Want to Go to Heaven…
Out of the various maxims related to my future that I’ve developed while studying theology, this is primary. There are various reasons why I want to go to heaven. I long to be reunited with family and friends who’ve died and are awaiting the return of Jesus (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). I am looking forward to living a life of which temptation, sin, sickness, and death will no long be apart (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26, 51-57; Revelation 21:1-4). To be honest, I desire to live in a mansion uniquely and specifically prepared for me (cf. John 14:1-3). MOST OF ALL, I want to see Jesus face to face and hear Him say “well done” (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:2; Matthew 25:21, 23).
Yes, I want to go to heaven. “So do I”, you might be thinking. That’s good for both of us, and we are a part of a larger community who truly desires to go to heaven. We believe that the promise of a better day is legitimate and available to all who believe and accept Jesus Christ.
But…
Although I’ve been exposed to literature from some of the best authors the world has ever known and received compositional training par excellence, it’s the little things, such as conjunctions, that still have a peculiar impact on me.
You, like me, probably learned about conjunctions in elementary school. When connecting two or more ideas use “and”. When comparing two or more ideas use “or”. When contrasting two or more ideas use “but”. Of course there are exceptions and variations to each rule.
My favorite conjunction is (you guessed it!) BUT. Simply explained, the presence of this contrasting conjunction informs the reader that the following idea(s) is more important than, and at times completely negates, the preceding idea. So, based on this definition, one could infer from the title of this blog that I have a want that totally negates or at least is more important than my strong desire to go to heaven. One is right….
I have some competition…
I want to go to heaven, but I have some competition. I wish I could say that at this point in my Christian experience my desire to see Jesus face to face is unrivaled. Every now and then, there are a few things that vie for my primary attention. As mentioned above, I’ll be graduating from college on May 12, 2012 at 8:00 PM in the Von Braun Center located on…you get the point. My family, friends, and I have been looking forward to this day for five years. Hey, I want to go to heaven, but I want to graduate first!
The Bible says, “It is not good for the man to be alone…for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh” (Genesis 2:18, 24, NIV). I agree! Is there anything wrong with wanting to be a faithful husband and loving father? My parents have been married for nearly three decades. I, too, want to experience the joys of marriage, and all there is to “know” with my wife and experience with children of my own. I want to go to heaven, but I want to have a family first!
To be continued…
-Richard
I share these sentiments. The competition has my head on a swivel! I need to invest in a neck brace... wait the brace is the Word of God. Probably just need to apply it better.