Our Longing to Be with Him
Jesus wants to be with us so much that it causes us to want to be with Him. As I said, we love Him because He first loved us. In John 14:3 He said,
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
He told the dying thief on the cross,
Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise. — Luke 23:43
Can you imagine hearing those words directly from the Savior's lips? "You will be with Me."
Paul explained death in similar terms, saying,
We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. — 2 Corinthians 5:8
When Paul was writing to the Philippians about his own death, he declared,
For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. — Philippians 1:23
In his most definitive explanation of the rapture of the church, the apostle said,
Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
— 1 Thessalonians 4:17
After all is said and done and all the explanations are made, there is only one thing that really matters when it comes to Heaven: Jesus is there, and we will be with Him. He longs to be with us, and He plants in our hearts the eternal desire to be with Him.
Often when we talk about a believing loved one who passed away, we say, "He is in Heaven." Perhaps we should say, "He's with Jesus." Or, "She's with the Lord." There's a hunger in every heart for the kind of love and permanence that only Christ can give. Whitney Houston, the American singer and actress, lived a troubled life and died at the age of forty-eight. She accidentally drowned in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. She was one of the best-selling artists in history.
On the night before her death, she performed a heartfelt rendition of "Jesus Loves Me." She told the crowd she had given her heart to Jesus. She told friends she thought the end was near, and in the days leading up to her death, she began quoting the Bible, singing hymns, and talking about Christ and heaven and the afterlife. On the morning of her death, she read about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, and she told a friend, "I'm gonna go see Jesus. I want to see Jesus."2
Deep within us, we all have that same desire — though we don't always realize it.
Dr. R. T. Kendall was thinking about Heaven one day, and he pondered all the people he wanted to meet. "I want to meet Paul the apostle. I will ask him, 'Did I faithfully interpret what you said about the faith of Christ?' I want to ask James, 'Did I really get it right on your epistle in James 2:14?' I want to meet Martin Luther — my hero. John Calvin — my favorite theologian. Charles Wesley and John Newton — my favorite hymn writers. Martyn Lloyd-Jones — my chief mentor."
Kendall continued:
One of the things I expect to be true is the reunion with my loved ones. My mother has been there since 1953, my father since 2002. I have friends I want to see there. All my mentors who have shaped my mind and my preaching style.
But first and foremost — words fail me to put this as I would wish... I only know... I want to see Jesus! The wonderful thing is that we will get to see Him before we see anyone else. I want to worship Him. To thank Him for leaving Heaven, to become nothing, to make Himself of no reputation, to become an embryo in the virgin Mary's womb. I want to thank Him for fulfilling the law. For never sinning. For dying on the cross. For saving me. I will thank Him for His infinite patience with me.3
What is it that makes you most excited about seeing Jesus? What do you want to tell Him? What do you want to hear from Him? What emotions do you expect to flood your mind and heart when you finally stand before Him face-to-face?
Such questions are worth thinking about. Heaven and Jesus are worth thinking about. Because as we will see in page after page throughout this book, the more we set our minds on the wonders of tomorrow, the more we are encouraged and inspired today.
.png "Meet David Jeremiah")
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