Pastor Larson’s Corner: I don’t know

I recently saw a survey that asked people what they thought about heaven. The questions were multiple-choice and each had four or five answers to choose from. Only occasionally, however, did the choices include the answer, “I don’t know.” If I filled out such a survey, I would have liked every question to have the choice, “I don’t know,” because when it comes to the hereafter, I don’t believe that we know much.

The only thing we know for sure about heaven is that it will be far beyond anything we could hope for or imagine. The Prophet Isaiah probably said it best when he said, “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” With these words, Isaiah clearly indicates that God’s heavenly preparations go far beyond our knowledge or expectations.

Thinking about what heaven will be like can bring us much joy. Certainly it will be a life full of immeasurable happiness. For me, however, it is enough to know that God has prepared a place for us. What it will be like we do not know, but we do know that God, through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, has provided us with an eternal hope. With the knowledge of that promise, we can live with great expectation and contentment for what the next life will bring. So, even though we have to answer, “I don’t know,” to most every question about heaven, we can be assured that it does exist and that one day we will be living in the place that “God has prepared for those who love him.”

Pastor Larson’s Corner is written by Jerry Larson and appears weekly in the Norwegian American Weekly.

Pastor Jerry Larson retired to his cabin in Zimmerman, Minn., after 39 years in parish ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. In 2011 he published a book entitled “Speaking the Word Freely: Writing with purpose, preaching with power.” Contact him at jerlarson@visi.com

This article originally appeared in the Nov. 14, 2014, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (800) 305-0271.