Four Possible Reasons Why You Are Not Interested in the Study of Heaven

1. You have become too attached to the things of this present world—too attached to your house, car, job, money, and other material things. You have become too close to this present world that you lose sight of heaven.

2. You have become too comfortable in this present world. Beautiful home. Nice car. Wonderful job. Good health. Your prosperity makes you earthly-minded, rather than heavenly. In the meantime, people who are poor and sick become less interested in staying in this world and more interested in going to heaven.

3. You think that heaven is only for old people. Since we associate heaven with death and since we associate death with old people, we think that heaven is only for the old. Some people say, “Well, I’m too young to think about heaven. I don’t want to go there yet. Let me first finish my education and get married, and then have children. Once I’m old, I will start thinking about heaven.”

4. You feel intimidated to think of the unthinkable subject of heaven. Because heaven is a very difficult doctrine to study, we simply avoid this doctrine. Especially in our study of this doctrine we encounter many questions to which the Bible does not give clear answers. Our problem, however, is that we focus on what the Bible does not say about heaven, rather than on what it says. Someone narrates a story about the Scottish doctor who visited his dying close friend:

Tell me, you are a believer of sorts. What will it be like after I die?” There was a moment of silence. Suddenly there was a scratching at the bedroom door. The doctor turned to his friend and said, “Did you hear that? It’s my dog. He’s been waiting patiently for me downstairs and has become impatient. He has never been in this room. He has no idea what it is like. He knows only one thing about it and that is that I am here. That’s all I know about the future….He’s there.

 

How true! There are many things that we do not know about heaven. But we know one thing for sure—our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is there. Samuel Rutherford (1600–1661) once stated, “Heaven and Christ are the same thing.” Rutherford continued, “O my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want.”

What makes heaven heaven is Christ’s presence; and what makes hell hell is His absence. If you desire to go to heaven, is it because of Jesus Christ?