God ascends among shouts of joy, the Lord among the sound of trumpets. Sing praise to God, sing praise. Sing praise to our God, sing praise! Sing a song of wisdom, for God is King of all the earth! (vs. 5-7)
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. His glory fills the whole earth! (Isaiah 6)
I have been writing about heaven lately. A dear sister in Christ went to heaven when her Jeep Cherokee careened into and underneath a semi on a snowy day in March of 2000. Her experience with Jesus is mesmerizing (you have to wait to read about it til the book is out) and exciting. Heaven is not a reflection of earth. Quite the contrary. Earthly beauty is magnified to such a degree that our earthly experience seems only a shadow of what is real. Earth is smoke and mirrors. Heaven is where it all begins and ends.
Imagine with me the first time we are allowed to see heaven. I have thought of this many times since we held my father-in-law's hands as he slipped away from here to there. One moment in a hospital bed in assisted living and the next lifted up to his feet to walk on streets of transparent gold and look into the face of Jesus. Transition. Not death. No sting for those of us who belong to Him. Eyes closed here for the last time open there to wonders unimaginable - but I am going to try imagine anyway.
Glowing all around me is light, but my eyes don't squint from its glare. There is no sun or moon from which it emanates but it is pervasive and sparkles with thick irridescence so that when my body moves the crystalline air undulates. Colors never conceived on earth burst from everywhere - from the mighty river roaring past, the fruit-laden trees heavy with their treasures, the flowers that cover hillsides for as far as the eye can see, and from the mighty walls of heaven bejeweled and sparkling in the perpetual Light. Aromas that become one with me, fill me with joy so that I want to dance with abandon until I can no longer stand on my own two feet. Orange blossoms and roses, honeysuckle and jasmine, mint and basil and translucent tree sap overflowing in abundance. All my senses heightened. Not just standing there enjoying perpetual sunset, but falling into it and becoming one with the beauty that I could only appreciate from a distance on earth.
All of this at once, of course. Taking it in. Then walking toward me is Light. Hard to make out the shape of it. I feel the need to unwrap it as it pulls me toward it. Suddenly my heavenly eyes focus and I see Him. Jesus. Eyes, fiery blue and piercing. Hair golden. Hands out to me. And I run, then. Into Him. Complete. Caught up in ecstasy. Understanding in the moment all my spirit was made for. Joy. Laughter. Like a child running into the arms of her beloved father after being apart from him for a time. Only more. So much more. Home. That is what I feel. Home at last.
Aware then of sounds. From His body comes a hum - a thrumming of power. Energy contained for a moment in a form I recognize, but too big to forever take on specific shape. Rushing water coming from the cascading river, music - symphonies and choirs - coming from a short distance away, and rustling of trees making a harmony all their own. Heaven is noisy with power. And the noise is getting closer as I walk with Jesus toward its source. Angels hover, glistening white and focused on the One on the Throne. I approach in the midst of thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands of beings - angels and saints - praising the King of All Who sits enthroned in majesty. My soul is taken up to a place indescribable and euphoric. So that were I human I would burst! I sing with them. A new song. I cry out with all that is in me: "Holy, Holy, Holy is my God!" I love Him. I love Him with my everthing. I bow down to Abba. I stand up and raise my spirit hands. I dance and dance and twirl and twirl and still have energy for the worship.
And then my Jesus sets me in front of Him and presents me to my Father. "This is Kay. She belongs to me. I have kept her for this day!"
My Father, who has ascended His throne, looks at me and I see His face. My Father. There is no language for His look. It is an embrace. A welcome home. The King loves me and tells me so. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. Seraphim were standing above Him. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts. His glory fills the whole earth! (Isaiah 6)
I have been writing about heaven lately. A dear sister in Christ went to heaven when her Jeep Cherokee careened into and underneath a semi on a snowy day in March of 2000. Her experience with Jesus is mesmerizing (you have to wait to read about it til the book is out) and exciting. Heaven is not a reflection of earth. Quite the contrary. Earthly beauty is magnified to such a degree that our earthly experience seems only a shadow of what is real. Earth is smoke and mirrors. Heaven is where it all begins and ends.
Imagine with me the first time we are allowed to see heaven. I have thought of this many times since we held my father-in-law's hands as he slipped away from here to there. One moment in a hospital bed in assisted living and the next lifted up to his feet to walk on streets of transparent gold and look into the face of Jesus. Transition. Not death. No sting for those of us who belong to Him. Eyes closed here for the last time open there to wonders unimaginable - but I am going to try imagine anyway.
Glowing all around me is light, but my eyes don't squint from its glare. There is no sun or moon from which it emanates but it is pervasive and sparkles with thick irridescence so that when my body moves the crystalline air undulates. Colors never conceived on earth burst from everywhere - from the mighty river roaring past, the fruit-laden trees heavy with their treasures, the flowers that cover hillsides for as far as the eye can see, and from the mighty walls of heaven bejeweled and sparkling in the perpetual Light. Aromas that become one with me, fill me with joy so that I want to dance with abandon until I can no longer stand on my own two feet. Orange blossoms and roses, honeysuckle and jasmine, mint and basil and translucent tree sap overflowing in abundance. All my senses heightened. Not just standing there enjoying perpetual sunset, but falling into it and becoming one with the beauty that I could only appreciate from a distance on earth.
All of this at once, of course. Taking it in. Then walking toward me is Light. Hard to make out the shape of it. I feel the need to unwrap it as it pulls me toward it. Suddenly my heavenly eyes focus and I see Him. Jesus. Eyes, fiery blue and piercing. Hair golden. Hands out to me. And I run, then. Into Him. Complete. Caught up in ecstasy. Understanding in the moment all my spirit was made for. Joy. Laughter. Like a child running into the arms of her beloved father after being apart from him for a time. Only more. So much more. Home. That is what I feel. Home at last.
Aware then of sounds. From His body comes a hum - a thrumming of power. Energy contained for a moment in a form I recognize, but too big to forever take on specific shape. Rushing water coming from the cascading river, music - symphonies and choirs - coming from a short distance away, and rustling of trees making a harmony all their own. Heaven is noisy with power. And the noise is getting closer as I walk with Jesus toward its source. Angels hover, glistening white and focused on the One on the Throne. I approach in the midst of thousands and thousands and hundreds of thousands of beings - angels and saints - praising the King of All Who sits enthroned in majesty. My soul is taken up to a place indescribable and euphoric. So that were I human I would burst! I sing with them. A new song. I cry out with all that is in me: "Holy, Holy, Holy is my God!" I love Him. I love Him with my everthing. I bow down to Abba. I stand up and raise my spirit hands. I dance and dance and twirl and twirl and still have energy for the worship.
And then my Jesus sets me in front of Him and presents me to my Father. "This is Kay. She belongs to me. I have kept her for this day!"
My Father, who has ascended His throne, looks at me and I see His face. My Father. There is no language for His look. It is an embrace. A welcome home. The King loves me and tells me so. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
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