Heaven on Earth on the Way to Heaven

Glimpses of Heaven on Earth

Have you ever stopped to think about what heaven is like?

Maybe you’ve pictured gold-covered sidewalks with pearled gates. Maybe you envision thrones and angels. But beyond physical appearance, what do we know about heaven?

Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

John 17:3 NIV

When God created the world, He made humans in His image to take care of the world on His behalf and to have a personal, perfect relationship with Him. Before they disobeyed God, Adam and Eve experienced a taste of heaven because they knew God personally and delighted in Him completely.

We were made to be perfectly unified with God—but our brokenness separated us from the fullness of His presence.

When Jesus asked that we would experience eternal life, He was talking about a reality where people could know God intimately and be with Him forever. And because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can now experience glimpses of heaven on earth whenever we seek His presence.

But heaven isn’t just something we can get a glimpse of now—it’s an eternity we’ll get to spend with Jesus. In heaven, death, sin, and sorrow don’t exist. Each person will be made perfect and whole. At that time, we will experience perfect unity with God—which is what we were made for.

And because we have an eternity with Jesus to look forward to, we should keep that reality in mind as we go about our everyday lives. Our choices have an eternal impact, and what we focus on will influence the direction our lives take. So when we choose to honor God with our actions and praise Him with our lives, we are bringing glimpses of heaven to earth and anticipating a future where we will delight in God’s presence forever.

Today, ask God to show you how to intentionally seek His presence.