Do you remember the first time you saw the ocean? The first time you looked out over the earth from an airplane and saw the clouds from above? Or the first time you looked at the Milky Way through a telescope? I can remember the first time I preached, the first time I bought an automobile, the first time I traveled overseas.

We’re often excited the first time we visit Disneyland, go down a waterslide or a zipline, or try to climb onto a surfboard.

Perhaps you also remember when you first heard about heaven. You learned Jesus was preparing a place for you. Do you remember the day you discovered that heaven would have streets of gold, that you would have a mansion, and that you would spend eternity in peace with Jesus? Maybe it was when a grandparent died, or perhaps even when you lost a pet. Many children learn about heaven while being comforted in loss by a parent.

Others hear about heaven from a Sunday school lesson or sermon. Most people hear misinformation about heaven from entertainment or media sources. Some are confused about metaphysical ideas in university philosophy classes and become perplexed or cynical.

Wouldn’t you agree that hearing what the Bible really says about heaven should be a memorable experience—a red-letter day? Especially if you’re the one who can share it! Oh, the exuberance of learning that death has been defeated by Jesus and that He has gone to heaven to prepare a place for us!

We should jump at every opportunity to give people their first real glimpse of heaven!

When people win the lottery or receive an enormous inheritance, it can be difficult for them to keep quiet about their newfound wealth. And while they might try not to say anything, the changes in their expression, outlook, and lifestyle might give it all away. But what about gaining the wealth and richness and joy of eternal life in a city designed and built by God especially for our everlasting enjoyment? We’ve gained all that in Christ, and it should be obvious in our countenance, conversation, and daily conduct.

We absolutely must become people who eagerly let others know what we’ve discovered. Heaven is too beautiful to keep to ourselves, too musical to keep quiet, too happy to ignore, and too important to neglect in our conversations. Let’s be people who help friends and family members catch a glimpse of glory.

Share the Promise of Heaven

The reality of heaven is God’s ultimate promise to the human race. Our present world is slowly fading, and the universe is gradually ebbing away. God has placed eternity in our hearts, and we have a Book that directs our attention to a city with foundations whose builder and maker is God.

There are so many ways to turn a conversation heavenward. If you’re talking about physical ailments or world conditions or urban problems or even personal disappointments, how easy to intentionally steer the conversation toward the subject of the glories that fuel your own personal joy, hope, anticipation, and expectation. It can easily lead to the presentation of the Gospel.

George MacDonald, the Scottish Congregational minister who became a famous writer, once engaged his son in a conversation about heaven. He told him about the visions in Revelation and the glories to come. His son said, “It seems too good to be true.” But MacDonald simply smiled and said, “Nay, it is just so good it must be true.”¹

Share the promise of heaven—it’s so good it must be true! But also share the place of heaven. Share the biblical details!

Share the Place Called Heaven

Heaven is a general title we use for what Revelation 21 calls the new heavens (or new cosmos or universe), the new earth, and the city of New Jerusalem. It isn’t a vapory place where our spirits will hover around like balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Jesus rose bodily from the grave. As I share in my new book, The Promise of Heaven, our own resurrected bodies will be identifiable and indestructible, just like His.

From the instant of our resurrection, our new bodies will never wear out nor grow old. They will be totally resistant to deterioration or decay. Your new body will be designed for eternity. It will not be subject to accidents, diseases, aging, or death. It will be pain-free and disease-free. It will never wear out and never die.

Revelation 21 and 22 give us a detailed and literal travel guide to the city of New Jerusalem, including its dimensions and building materials. We have to share them! It’s remarkable how many people—including multitudes of Christians—don’t realize the literal, factual details about their eternal home which are recorded for us in Scripture. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t be interested in knowing these things.

Share the Hope of Heaven

It was said of the American frontier preacher, James B. Finley, “His whole face glowed with a heavenly radiance. When he described heaven, which he always did in the beautiful and impressive imagery of the Bible, his mind seemed transported to that bright world.”

It’s not just information that we share when we speak of heaven, nor is it merely to satisfy curiosity. Peter told us to “sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).

We want to communicate hope! Charles Spurgeon said, “When you speak of Heaven… let your face light up, let it be irradiated with a heavenly gleam, let your eyes shine with reflected glory. But when you speak of Hell—well, then your ordinary face will do.”

Barbara Walters, who died in 2022, did thousands of news broadcasts during her career, but she said heaven was the most interesting subject she ever investigated. Walters didn’t grow up in a religious family. She said her family never discussed the afterlife, and she didn’t think about it until she decided to approach the subject for a television special. She said, “I’ve done years and years of specials, but I care more about this one than anything I’ve ever done.”

Walters interviewed dozens of scientists, philosophers, atheists, and people from many religious traditions. But when asked about her own beliefs, Walters was vague. When asked, “If there is a heaven, do you expect to go there,” she replied, “I have no idea.”²

This was a woman who researched heaven and found the subject fascinating, but she never seemed to have found the Christ who could give her hope. We should do everything in our power to reach people like her with the hope that is within us.

Share the Joy of Heaven

When we do so, we’re spreading a joy unspeakable and full of glory. Randy Alcorn says we can breathe in the happiness of heaven now.³ Jesus did that, even when facing Calvary. Hebrews 12:2 tells us to look unto Jesus, “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

What sustained Jesus through the agony of His sacrificial death? He was breathing in the joy of heaven, eager for the day He would return to His seat on the throne of God.

People need a certain future expectation to enable them to bear the pressures of life. Only heaven can fill the bill. The truths of heaven can sustain us through illness, loss, bereavement, poverty, misunderstanding, and exhaustion. When we tell people about heaven, we’re giving them a source of eternal joy that wells up into their hearts like a pure, perpetual spring.

Grace Fox wrote, “I was eight when my sister told me about heaven. ‘No one gets sick,’ she said. ‘Everyone has food. No one fights or cries!’ Images of happy, healthy people filled my mind. Nice place to go when I die, I thought. Decades later, heaven means infinitely more. As I reflect on Christ’s death and resurrection, I realize that I’d have no place in heaven apart from Him. I thank Him for giving me citizenship there.”⁴

Tell someone that. Your children. Your loved ones. Even the strangers you meet. Heaven is too wonderful to keep to ourselves. There’s no greater blessing than giving someone else their first glance of their eternal home in Christ.

Citations:

¹Randy Alcorn Eternal Perspectives (Tyndale, 2012), 15.
²BeliefNet, “Heaven Is a Place Where You Are Happy.”
³Randy Alcorn, “Breathe in the Happiness of Heaven,” Eternal Perspective Ministries, November 2, 2020.
⁴Mornings with Jesus 2020 (Zondervan, 2020), 100.