What would you do for a million dollars? If you’ve ever watched game shows such as Survivor, it’s clear that people will go to great lengths, face terrifying fears, and put themselves through intense suffering in order to earn a million dollars. However, if you were to ask people on Survivor to do it all for free, without the publicity of being on a show, far fewer would apply to participate. Imagine asking the contestants to do it all for free, but then offering the winner a million dollars at the end anyways. The contestants that inevitably dropped out may say something like, “I would’ve done so much more if I knew it was for a million dollars!”
Will we end up saying something similar when we get to heaven? Will we arrive and see the glory, take in the beauty, experience the rest, and enjoy a perfect relationship with God our Father, and say, “Compared to this, I would’ve endured so much more and sacrificed everything if I really knew what this would be like”?
The journey is hard—no doubt about that. Some of us have experienced such intense suffering that we wouldn’t wish it upon our worst enemy. But as much as we can hold the weight of our suffering, we can see the even greater glory that awaits us in heaven. When we know the end, it changes everything. We may deal with the scars of trauma, but those scars will disappear in heaven. We may wrestle with sin that feels impossible to escape, but we will leave behind our weak flesh when we enter the gates of heaven. Romans 8:18 says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (NIV).
If we can keep our focus on what lies at the end, we can have joy in the midst of the difficult journey. We can have a peace that surpasses all understanding. We can look in the face of our deepest suffering—not ignoring the pain—but holding onto the real hope that our pain has an expiration date. Heaven may hold the peace and joy we are longing for, but we can have a taste of it right now through the power of the Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing what is to come (Ephesians 1:14).
Reflection/Discussion Question: How can the hope of heaven give you joy and peace in the midst of any circumstance?
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