The Other Side - Pt 3

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:7-11 ESV).

In exploring “The Other Side” I come to a principle that many believers have not given much thought. We tend to think about the spiritual joy of heaven more than its physical pleasures; however, every pleasure finally finds itself. But I think heaven will have both joy and pleasure. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know how to imagine all the details, but I don’t think God created the grandeur of mountain landscapes, or the breathtaking vistas of crystal clear oceans, or waterfalls, or chocolate, relationships, and art only to destroy them forever so we could float in an ethereal, cloudy realm. And I’m pretty sure the “pleasures forevermore” of our reading today are not exhausted by an eternity of singing praise choruses. That means something startling. As we saw yesterday, not only will heaven heal your earthly sorrow, but it will also recall, answer, and fulfill all your earthly happiness. Your happy moments on earth are not lost to you. They will return to you, in some deeper form — part of that final, settled happiness of which they were, even at their best, mere anticipations. I don’t know what it is about some things that we experience that affect us as they do. I understand the things that hurt us. I have experienced enough of those disappointments and painful circumstances that I can easily relate to the joy of our heavenly existence that is free from pain and grief. However, when it comes to those times when I was lost in happiness I have much more difficulty expecting anything like that in heaven. Some of these things are so temporal it’s hard to imagine that God would have anything like that in heaven. I remember the first home run Kyle hit in little league; I remember the first goal David scored in soccer as a 4-year old; I remember the first musical score Aaron played for us from memory. Each of these produced an enormous amount of satisfaction and happiness. There are hundreds of such moments, some simple and some complex in their nature and duration. All of them were moments that still bring great pleasure as I recall them. The Scripture teaches that all of those moments have been stored up for eternity. All of those moments will be a part of the pleasure of heaven. The difference is that then we not be encumbered with any of the pain of other experiences. They will be better for that reason. Our pleasure will be perfect as well! That’s the kind of hope we have secured in the grace of God!