I remembered that we have a copy of The Glory of Heaven by John MacArthur, so I pulled it off the bookshelf the other day. I know we've had the book for almost fifteen years, and I've never taken the time to read it before now. MacArthur's purpose is to help his readers have a biblical understanding of heaven and to fix their affections there. He explains:
"This means earnestly purging worldliness from our hearts. It means learning to wean ourselves from the preoccupations of this life. It means looking ahead to eternity and living in the expectation of a sure and certain hope. It means looking away from the mundane and temporal, and fixing our eyes steadfastly on Him who is the glory of heaven. Those who live with this heavenly perspective discover abundant life as God intended it here on earth." (p. 63)
And, in contrast, he writes:
"Unfamiliarity with heaven makes a dull and worldly Christian. God has graciously bid us sample the delights of the world to come, and it is only a rebellious and perverse mindset that keeps us mired in the mundane and worldly." (p.64)
Since our citizenship is in heaven, our hearts should be set on the things of heaven, not on the things of this world that so often rob our joy.
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20
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