photo #6272796

"Afterlife Reality Check"The Apostle John offered a description of the new heaven and new earth. He talked about walls of jasper, foundations of precious stone, streets of gold, etc. At first glance we get the impression we’re going to be dwelling in a place of abounding opulence. But then meditate for awhile and you realize what he’s done--he’s taken the things we value the most in this life and reduced them to the level of the commonplace.We place high value on gold and silver and exotic jewels. In heaven we are introduced to their real worth—they are merely metals and stones. In heaven gold is paving material. Pearls and all kinds of precious jewels are used as building materials. Even the personal rewards that mean so much to us wind up at the feet of the Almighty, where they belong, by the way.Jesus intimated that everything’s going to be upside down in the Kingdom. The high are made low and the low high. The exalted ones are humbled and the humble exalted. So much of what we covet and strive for and hoard turns out to be dust in God’s world. Which means a lot of us are working for the wrong things, and our lofty achievements are actually nothing but empty air. Jesus tried to tell us things are different in the kingdom, and it doesn’t seem like very many of us are listening.