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Key Bible Verse: You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:11) Bonus Reading: Colossians 3:1-4

In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn helps us see eternity in fresh ways; his greatest contribution might be portraying heaven as fun. Yes, fun! Why we would think of heaven in any other way is beyond me. The Master Designer of all creativity and all things good would never have his most loved friends (us) in unending boredom.

There will be plants, animals (perhaps even pets), music, games—everything that's good and wonderful now will be better then. There will be cities, or one major city. There will be buildings, art, culture, and music. There likely will be goods, services, major events, transportation, and communications.

What's more, there will be education. You'll continue to develop and grow. We often associate learning with drudgery (probably from being stuck in stuffy classrooms with stern teachers), but learning and discovering will become most pleasurable.

Let's be honest—we get dismayed at thinking eventually heaven's newness and excitement will wear off. That's our earthbound mind talking. We find it tough to fathom that God, endlessly creative and imaginative, will introduce new, amazing things for us to enjoy throughout eternity.

—Jim Garlow with Keith Wall in Heaven and the Afterlife

My Response: Do I have trouble believing heaven will be eternally fun? Why or why not?

Thought to Apply: Take all the pleasures of all the spheres, and multiply each through endless years—one minute of heaven is worth them all.—Thomas Moore (Irish poet)

Adapted from Heaven and the Afterlife (Bethany House, 2009) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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Prayer for the Week

Dear heavenly Father, help me to not only reflect on heaven and the afterlife but to also consider what eternity has to do with how I live in the here and now.

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