Heaven - fairy tale or truth?

This must be the biggest question that crosses everyone's minds, whoever you are and at whatever age - is heaven a real place or is it just fairy tales to make us feel better about death?  Where do we go when we die, is there any hope?   One of life's mysteries is death.......life is so precious and our love and relationships here on earth run so deep. When we lose someone we love it breaks our hearts more than anything.  It's hard to believe that precious life is here one day and gone the next with no retaliation and is no respecter of persons - this is life; we're all in it together.  It's so important that we embrace this wonderful life while we have it, so many times we take it for granted.

We were never meant to die
Every human loves so deeply and I believe that this love is placed within each one of us from the beginning.  This love was never meant to be separated by death, as, according to the bible, we were never meant to die.  Our love for each other and God was suppose to be eternal.  I find it interesting that we only use a very small percentage of our brains throughout our lives, why is this, could it be that we were born for more? Do you feel you were born for more? - I believe you probably do. 

What will heaven be like?
People think believing in heaven is a weak thought and that we are trying to run away from reality.  However, it is not a made up thought, but we know all we can know about heaven when we go to the bible for answers.  The word 'Heaven' appears 580 times in the bible and is the place where God lives.  

The apostle Paul was “caught up to the third heaven,” (2 Corinthians 12:1-9).  If a third heaven exists, there must also be two other heavens. The first is most frequently referred to in the Old Testament as the “sky” or the “firmament.” This is the heaven that contains clouds, sky and atmosphere.  The second heaven is outer space, which is the abode of the stars, planets, and other celestial objects (Genesis 1:14-18).  The third heaven, the location of which is not revealed, is the dwelling place of God. Jesus promised to prepare a place for true Christians in heaven (John 14:2). 

It is a completely perfect place with no evil, no sickness or no dying.  Only goodness and love can live there because God lives there.  If you go there you will also encounter the purest of loves; the source of all human love.  This truth is taken from Rev 4, 21 - 'God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'  And in Rev 22, 3-7, it says, 'No longer will there be any curse (evil & sin). The throne of God and of the Lamb (Jesus) will be in the city (heaven), and his servants will serve him.  There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever'.

Is God to blame for evil things?
Earth is a place between heaven and hell; good and evil can live here and as a result we have to face sickness and death.  However, heaven is a completely different place, there will be no more dying, sickness or anything bad there.  Nothing evil can reside there because it's God's home and a place of only goodness.  Some people unfortunately, blame God for all sorts of bad things and even though I don't understand everything, I know that God is not the source of bad things that happen - this is simply not true.  Bad things and evil are at work here on earth but it is not the work of God. 

How do we get to heaven?  
Something that one can forget it that we have to make a choice to want to go there.  We don't just end up there like most think, we have to decide for ourselves whilst we are still living.  You would never let a stranger into your home would you?  This is the same with God, he has given us a choice and would never force us to know Him.  May be some forget that God is an actual person, although completely divine, can feel and think as we do, after all we were made in his image. 


The God I know is full of love for people, that is why He sent Jesus, his own son to die on the cross. Yes, even God's own son faced death himself, because of the evil of others! When Jesus died however, it gave people a way of getting to heaven.  May I say, we do not need to earn our way into heaven, there is nothing of anything we could achieve ourselves. Only by knowing Jesus, can we get into heaven as he is the only one who can forgive sin and get rid of the evil we are subjected to here on earth.  Once this is gone, we are then one day able to enter heaven.  John 14,6, Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the father (God) except through me. 


Whether we believe in Jesus or not, no-one is any better than the other, as I say it is nothing to boast about, as it is only through God's unimaginable grace for the human race. John 3 16 says,  'For God so loved the world, that he gave His only son, that whoever believes on Him will not perish but will receive eternal life'.  For those that are unable to make a decision about heaven for themselves, such as children and the mentally ill, I believe that would be for God to judge not us.  I certainly believe children go to heaven because of this reason.

According to the bible, heaven is a very real place, it's not a fantasy or something to make us just feel good.  It's a place of hope and beauty, a place of rest and peace, joy and happiness.  Hope for humanity - but often the bible is the last place we want to look for it. 

xxx