Heavenly Sets

Sherri and I went to see 'Avatar' last week. We sprung for the extra $3 and saw it in 3D. We thought it was a good movie, not great and a bit long. What makes this movie such a big hit isn't its average storyline, but rather the visually stunning world the story takes place in.

What moviemakers can do with special effects these days is amazing. On the Avatar planet Pandora we saw mountains float in mid-air along with all sorts of interesting creatures. It was as if James Cameron became the 'creator' and came up with a whole new cast of plants and animals and people. He stole a bunch of God's ideas- like eyes and hands and feet etc, but he creatively rearranged them into some pretty unique and fantastic creations.

And as good as they were and as much as they held my attention, I couldn't help but think that the imagination of this filmmaker is a gift on loan from God. And whatever his mind gifts him to imagine and create on film is but the smallest of glimpses of things God can imagine and create.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you think 'Avatar' is visually stunning wait till you see the reality of heaven. God gives us this same message in Corinthians where Paul writes, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him." Heaven will make 'Avatar' look like a bad amateur YouTube video.

The little known last verse of 'When the Saints Go Marching In' describes what our anticipation to see the glory heaven should be:

Oh When the new world is revealed
Oh When the new world is revealed
Lord, how I want to be in that number
When the new world is revealed

I want to be in that number too! We can't begin to imagine how awesome the heavenly set will be. Revelation gives us a few of the details, but I get the feeling the author knew words could not adequately describe what he saw. When we try to descibe a sunset or the smell of a Spring rain, words can fail- how much greater do they come up short in trying to relate what heaven is like?

Jesus adds to the anticipation we should feel about heaven when He says, 'Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great.' Even God Himself believes the reward of heaven is going to be something very special- something so good our reaction should be to rejoice! I pray we all get to see the glory of heaven one day- He's already paid the price of admission and this is one eternal show we don't want to miss.

Blest Regards,
Keith