Nearing Home by Billy Graham (best book club books for discussion txt) 📗

before us. I am often asked if we will recognize each other in Heaven—and my answer is always a resounding yes! Someday soon I know I will be reunited with all those in my family who are already in Heaven—and especially my dear wife, Ruth. King David confidently expressed this hope; after the death of his infant son, he declared, “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him” (2 Samuel 12:23). When Christ was transfigured and His Heavenly glory overwhelmed His earthly appearance, Moses and Elijah appeared from Heaven with Him in recognizable form (Matthew 17:1–3). The Bible tells us that in Heaven we won’t be isolated spirits, separated from each other and floating aimlessly around the clouds (as cartoons sometimes suggest). Instead we will be united together in Heaven: “We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, emphasis added).

Perhaps, however, you shrink back from this; you don’t look forward to meeting someone who has hurt you or someone you have hurt. Don’t worry about this, however. In Heaven they will be perfect—and so will you!

Heaven is joyous also because in Heaven all our questions will be answered. Life can be confusing, and every one of us has stood at the grave of a loved one or watched as a great evil seemed to be winning the day, asking, “Why, God? Why did You let this happen? Where are You? It doesn’t make any sense.” But someday all our doubts and questions will be resolved, and we will understand. Paul put it this way: “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). As part of this we will be able to look back over our lives and rejoice in God’s goodness and grace to us.

In addition, Heaven will be joyous because all our burdens will be lifted—never to return. One of the Bible’s most comforting pictures of Heaven is that it will be a place of rest: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. . . . They will rest from their labor” (Revelation 14:13).

But the Bible tells us a final truth about Heaven’s joy: our experience of Heaven will express itself in joyous worship. The writer of Hebrews expressed it this way: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven” (12:22–23). On this earth our worship is imperfect, incomplete, superficial—even dull or boring. It shouldn’t be this way, of course; joyous worship should be part of every believer’s daily experience as we focus on God’s greatness, goodness, and glory. But in Heaven our worship will be perfect because we will see our Savior face-to-face. Although it is often overlooked, one of the central themes of the book of Revelation is Heaven’s worship:

Then I heard every creature . . . singing:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!” (Revelation 5:13)

Heaven Is Active

“To be honest, I’m not even sure I want to go to Heaven,” someone e-mailed me not long ago. “It sounds so boring, just sitting around on a cloud doing nothing.” This is a serious misunderstanding of Heaven. In spite of the popular image, we won’t be sitting on clouds and strumming harps. Instead the Bible says we will be busy. God will have work for us to do! “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him” (Revelation 22:3). The difference is that in this life we get tired and weary, but in Heaven we will never get tired because we will have unlimited energy to serve Christ.

What will we do? The Bible doesn’t say exactly; if it did, we probably wouldn’t understand it anyway! It does, however, tell us that God will grant us the privilege of participating in Christ’s rule over all creation: “And they will reign [with Him] for ever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). We definitely won’t be bored in Heaven!

My longtime associate and Crusade song leader Cliff Barrows jokingly told me once that in Heaven I will be unemployed while he will still have a job. The reason, he explained (with a twinkle in his eye), is that in Heaven there won’t be any need for evangelists while the Heavenly choirs will still need someone to lead them. I assured him that I wasn’t worried about it because I was confident God would find something else for me to do. He might, I added, even change me into a choir director!

Heaven Is Certain

Heaven is glorious, Heaven is perfect, Heaven is joyous, and Heaven is active; but can we know—really know—that it is also certain? Can we know for certain that we will go there when we die and that it will be our eternal home? The Bible says yes!

Only one thing will keep you out of Heaven, and that is your sin. God is absolutely pure and holy, and even one sin—just one— would be enough to banish you from His presence forever. But Jesus Christ came to take away your sins by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

As long as you trust in yourself—your goodness, your religious deeds, your inner hopes—for your salvation, you will never have any lasting assurance of your salvation. After all, how will you know if you have been good enough or