I remember during our third church plant, the family of one of our main leaders was very gifted musically. The wife played the piano and two daughters played the violin. Because of their talents and spiritual gifts, the music during worship was always inspirational and set the stage for the proclamation of the Word of God. Moreover, this family was so devoted to Christ that the wife gave herself the name Hope and gave their daughters the names Faith and Joy.
Music is such an integral part of worship. I can only imagine what it is going to be like when we gather around the throne in Heaven.
There are many passages in the Bible describing heaven, a few include:
– Revelation 21 and 22 describes heaven as the new Jerusalem that descends from heaven.
– John 14:1-3 describes heaven as “a Father’s house”.
– Psalm 16:11 describes heaven as a place of great joy and pleasure.
If you ever visit my earthly home in Melissa, you will see that I love plants and flowers. In fact, my backyard has no grass, just flowers and shrubs along with walkways. Springtime is my favorite time of the year when my daylilies and orchids bloom along with a variety of hostas waking up after being dormant during the wintertime.
In many religious traditions, including Christianity, heaven is often described as a “garden”, which most often references the Garden of Eden. As such, it signifies a place of perfect beauty, abundance, serenity, and where one can experience complete peace and joy. Often it is described as paradise which translates to garden.
My earthly backyard garden gives me a glimpse of my heavenly home and garden – but thankfully without the weeds. I have told my wife if she ever wants to see me in heaven, she can find me in the little square section of garden that I am assigned to in heaven, happily taking care of it.