When Heaven Can’t Wait

Clay and Tim Lambert

My brother-in-law, Clay, went home to be with the Lord this week. He was 56 years old. He found out mid-December that he had kidney cancer that had metastasized into his brain and lungs.

He was a single father who raised his two children mostly by himself. He was very involved in the lives of several of his nieces and nephews as they were growing up; he was a good person. And he was fun to be around.

That seems young to be taken. He was a grandfather of several young children. He now won’t be able to know them as they grow up.

The Bible says that man lives for 70-80 years (Psalm 90:10), and I think sometimes we question God, feeling that we and/or our loved ones have been cheated if our lives are cut shorter than that. We wonder why God takes good people but leaves others on this earth to continue doing evil.

I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I do know that my God is trustworthy.

A friend recently shared that, as she thought that her son might be dying, she prayed, “God, it would break my heart for David to miss out on so many things.” God impressed her with the thought that there is nothing on this earth that compares to what he was going to get to experience in heaven.

Just think of it: There is nothing on earth that is worth staying here for, when we’re given the opportunity to join the Lord in heaven! What a comforting thought! I know that word from the Lord gave my friend peace as her son was taken home and continues to comfort her to this day.

What’s so great about heaven? Are we going to have wings and play on harps? Nope. Not at all. We will have work to do. Saints will judge the world and the angels. And we will exchange our mortal bodies for immortal bodies.

What’s in heaven? Scripture says joy, an incorruptible inheritance, and glory. It is a paradise, and it has many dwelling places prepared for His people by Christ.

What’s NOT there? Marriage, death, famine, tears, or darkness.

Who will be there? For starters, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, angels, and those whose names are written in the Book of Life, which includes Clay.

And lots more!

Sounds like a pretty great place, huh? Yes, those of us left behind for now will miss my brother-in-law. But the good news is that those who know the Lord will see him again!