In His Presence: It's Reward Enough

What will heaven be like? There likely are as many answers to that question as their are inquirers. Biblical writers used imagery familiar to their day to capture the essence of the eschaton. City with no gates. Transparent gold streets. No tears. No death.

One's station in life tends to influence one's perspective of heaven. Many hymns that extol the opulence of heaven emerge, understandably, from the depression era. I can understand a depression era migrant worker thinking of "mansion awaiting for him...at the end of life's troublesome way." I'm not so sure, however, that the blessing of heaven has to do with any material reward.

I learned what I think heaven really is about just this week. My mom and dad came for a visit this past week. They came primarily to see Zach, our 14 year old son, march in the Spain Park High School Band. Like his other siblings, he's a very gifted musician. Following in the rhythmic steps of his ole dad, he's a drummer--and quite a good one. Along with this, he, unlike his dad, is also a gifted vocalist, but I digress.

While my parents were here, my dad and I had a chance to go fishing together for a few hours on Thursday evening. While I was growing up, my dad and I fished together quite a bit. It was a special treat for me to engage in this shared experience with my dad again and, we had a blast.

Interestingly, we didn't catch very many fish. I caught two, embarrassingly small bass and my dad caught none. As we were packing up to leave, I express to my dad how bad I felt that he didn't catch a fish. Now, my dad isn't very expressive. When he speaks, however, it's from the heart.

In his matter of fact, but very tender way, he said: "Catching fish isn't what makes this fun, just being with each other makes the trip worth it." He couldn't have said it any better. That's when I realized an important truth. While we're trying to figure out all the trappings of heaven, I believe, once we're there, that we'll understand it's true blessing: just being with each other in the Father's presence will be reward enough.

"What is my hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy (1 Thess. 2:19).