2 PETER 3:11–13 – Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

THEME OF THE DAY. HEAVEN: THE PLACE OF PERFECTION. We should probably start out today admitting we know nothing about perfection. Oh, we may define it, but in reality, what do we really know about perfection? Not much because there is nothing perfect in our upside down world – no perfect relationship, no perfect job, no perfect church, no perfect anything. And keeping it in the context of our spiritual lives and relationship with God, we are even more unaware of spiritual perfection – untainted holiness, pure worship, undivided love, and always rightly motivated service. But just because we don’t really grasp perfection, we can certainly look with hope for that place of perfection – heaven. That is what faith does. The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). And what might be those things not seen? The perfect things in a perfect heaven.

Though we may not be able to get our minds around a perfect heaven, that doesn’t mean we should not put our minds on a perfect heaven. In fact, doing this is one of the most important disciplines we may do in our walks with the Lord. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossian believers, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1-3). And from the Apostle John, we learn what thinking about heaven, and particularly, the chief object of heaven, the Lord Jesus will do in our lives – See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure (1 John 3:1-3). Taking these two portions of scripture, we may make two applications for living our lives for Christ by thinking on heaven – the place of perfection.

First, by “seeking the things that are in heaven” and “setting our minds on things above”, we are constantly reminded we belong to Jesus and this world is not our home. All successful Christian living depends on living for the next world. Forget or lack dwelling on heaven, and we will be worldly Christians. Fast. It will always be true. We are either fixing our affections on the things of this world or the next. And where our affections lie determines the quality of our spiritual walks with the Lord Jesus.

Next, by thinking of Jesus, the King of Heaven, returning, we are motivated to live out the purpose of our salvation – holiness. The more we fix our gaze on the King of Heaven, the more we become like the King of Heaven – the very work God is doing in our lives.

So, heaven is a perfect place that we don’t quite get in this world, but we can get enough about it to deepen our longing for it. May God help us to live as pilgrims in a strange land far from home but getting closer to home with each passing day.

PRAYER: “Father, deepen my longing for heaven; the place I will worship and love You perfectly, fully, and forever.”

QUOTE: “Long more for heaven every day and we will live more for Him who is the object of heaven – the Lord Jesus.”