A Taste of Heaven
Last Sunday my son Stevie was married to his beautiful bride Jessica. It was my privilege to perform the ceremony. Everything came together perfectly, well almost. I have to be honest, I was feeling pretty emotional and I wanted to make sure I didn’t cry so I was doing my best to keep my emotions in check. When Jessica’s father walked her up to meet Stevie I intended to ask the question that is a part of most every wedding ceremony, “Who gives this woman to be married to this man?” However, it didn’t come out that way. I actually said, “Who gives this man to be married to this woman?” As soon as I said it I saw some strange looks on peoples faces and in an instant I realized what I had said. Instead of pretending I didn’t say it I started laughing out loud and acknowledged my error. Everyone else started laughing and it helped me to have fun the rest of the ceremony. After the wedding ceremony we celebrated with a fantastic reception.
I think everyone had fun but for me it was a taste of heaven. I’ve performed around 165 weddings including both my daughters and now my son’s wedding. I’ve also performed weddings for other family members as well. At this particular wedding I saw people I hadn’t seen in years. It was like a huge family reunion. Everyone looked great all dressed up for the wedding. There was great food, dancing, wine, desserts, laughter, toasts to the bride and groom, excellent music, and all this on a beautiful day at a fantastic venue. Let me say it again, it was like a taste of heaven.
Have you ever wondered what heaven is going to be like? The Bible gives us some description of heaven but it’s a lot to wrap our minds around. If you go to the book of Revelation there are glimpses of heaven that show up. The venue is so amazing words hardly do it justice. The apostle Paul was given a glimpse of heaven one time and basically said it was so mind blowing it left him speechless which is saying a lot when you consider how much Paul liked to talk.
John who wrote the book of Revelation was given a revelation of what heaven looks like. Read Revelation 21 and 22 for details. Jesus talked a lot about weddings in his parables. The church is metaphorically called the bride of Christ and references are made to the great wedding feast of the lamb. When John wrote the book of Revelation he was exiled on an Island called Patmos. He was separated from everyone he loved. In fact in Revelation 21 as John is giving some description of heaven he says, “And the sea was also gone.” Now if you are an ocean loving person these words are cause for grief. “What, no ocean?”
As a lifelong surfer I didn’t know what to think about what John said for many years. Then, one day I was doing a deep dive on this particular verse and discovered that the sea is a metaphor for separation from people. On this lonely island the sea separated John from all the people he loved and cared for so he is saying in heaven nothing will separate us from the ones we love. Personally I think this will be the best part of heaven. I hate being separated from the people I love. I hate saying goodbye and knowing I may not see my friends and family for long periods of time. The wedding feast of the lamb as the Bible describes it will bring us all together for all eternity.
One more thought about heaven. John says every tear will be wiped from our eyes and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. In other words we will be healed from all that ails us. This includes all the emotional, psychological, and physical illnesses that make life difficult for us. In this broken world where so many people have been hurt and damaged I realize that what I call a taste of heaven might sound terrible to some people. Their idea of heaven might be being on an island away from people. Sorry to say but heaven is not described that way.
I was at Disneyland the other day with my family and it was a sea of people. Someone with social anxiety disorder would have been having a really bad day. My point is God is going to make heaven an incredible lifelong experience and most of us will need some healing in order to enjoy it.
Fear not, it will happen one day and we will all be together and it won’t just be a taste of heaven, it will be heaven.
Stay close to Jesus,
Steve