Jesus said in Luke 17:21, "The kingdom of God is in your midst." If we have the heavenly kingdom in our hearts, what will our life be like? Let's delve into three characteristics of those who have the heavenly kingdom in their hearts.
You Will Be Full of Joy Due to Hope for Heaven
Suppose a person is old and homeless. He hasn't eaten for several days. He may feel hungry and painful. But, what if this person has a lottery ticket in his pocket that won a huge sum of money? He would not feel so pained about his situation, but rather he would have hope for the future when he would receive the money. Then, he might even feel happy although at that moment he was in a difficult situation.
Heaven is a place where there are no tears, sorrow, pain, or death. For God's children, this beautiful Heaven has been prepared. Our life in Heaven is eternal, but our earthly life is momentary. So, those who have hope for Heaven do not really care about the difficulties of this life. The greater our hope for Heaven the greater our joy in heart.
It is because of our spiritual longing. We wonder how our heavenly dwelling places are being built, and what rewards and how much we have piled up in Heaven. We think about what we will confess to our Lord Bridegroom and our God in the future.
If we have Heaven in our hearts in the way, we will be able to adorn ourselves as the Lord's beautiful brides. Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." Let's set our mind on the things above and rejoice with the hope for Heaven!
Your Love for God and the Lord Will Become More Ardent
Because one thinks little of Heaven, he takes a little time to think about God. Instead, he looks at things of the world and seeks worldly pleasure. Even if he prays, he cannot receive grace and inspiration from above. As he loses the strength to pray, he may skip praying a couple of times and eventually he will stop praying. He may even begin to skip worship services.
Because his heart is filled with worldly things, he doesn't gain understanding even in the worship services, nor does he receive any grace from them. He may think he knows the messages delivered and just falls into idle thoughts. This way, his Christian life turns into formality and his faith turns lukewarm or even cold.
Thus, 1 John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." You cannot love the world if you have the love of God who created everything for us and is cultivating us in preparation for Heaven, and the love of the Lord who was crucified to give us forgiveness of our sins and salvation.
As you have more hope for Heaven, you will want to live by the Word of God more and miss Him all the more all the time. You cannot love both God and the world. If you accept one of them, the other will go away. It's just like when darkness comes, it is the light that disappears, and when the light comes, the darkness goes away.
When you long for Heaven and love God, the worldly things are no longer pleasure to you. You will be poor in spirit and hunger for God's grace. You will hunger and thirst for righteousness. You will desire to experience influences of the Holy Spirit in prayer in which you can throw away sins and understand spiritual mysteries.
Also, when you care for the souls and work faithfully for the kingdom of God, comfort and peace in your heart is so great. Spiritual joy cannot be compared with any pleasure of this world. The moment you get up and open your eyes in the morning, God's love flashes through your mind, and when you look up to the sky on the street, you will naturally confess; "Father, I love You! Lord, I love You!"
You Will Be More Faithful in Everything
Some active and diligent people work hard in every matter. Some other people are very faithful in only the works that they like. But for the things they don't like, they just do them reluctantly. They even complain, and when somebody doesn't seem to be diligent, they have discomfort and break peace. Thus, we cannot say one is truly faithful just because he is hard-working in a fleshly sense. True faithfulness comes from a good heart, love for God, and hope for Heaven.
If Heaven is in our midst, we will naturally be faithful anywhere and anytime. We will serve our family members with all our hearts and do it with joyful faces. We will also be filled with joy and thanks in the workplace and receive recognition from others by trying our best in every matter. We can endure those who are not as capable as others. We will seek the benefit of others. In the church, we will be even more faithful to fulfill our duties. We will cultivate generous hearts, have peace with everybody, and be praised by all people.
If you think you are faithful in the church, but you are not as faithful at home or in the workplace, you cannot say you truly have Heaven in you. You should check whether you have fleshly attributes in your heart that motivate your desire to only do what you want to do.
Psalm 37:3 reads, "Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness." If you really love God and yearn for Heaven, you will try to give glory to God in everything of your life. You should be faithful not only in a certain aspect but in all aspects. Then, you can feel the joy of Heaven.
Let's look back as to whether we can really be acknowledged as faithful Christians in our family and workplace, and what kind of person we are in the sight of other people in terms of fulfilling our duty. Thereby, let's dwell on whatever is true, whatever is lovely, and whatever is of good repute.
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