These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes

These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes.

You’ve probably heard someone say,  “I’m not sure I want to go to heaven.   It sounds pretty boring.”   You may have even had this thought yourself.   Some of the images in Scripture’s reading  (Revelation 14:4) might reinforce that view.   It might be wonderful to hear harps playing and hymns being sung for a while, but it’s probably not something you’d want to hear twenty-four hours a day!

But look again:   “The sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder” (Revelation 14:2).   What is it like to be in the midst of a powerful thunderstorm, or to see breakers splash on a beach or a waterfall cascade over a cliff?   These are by no means tame images of the glory that God has prepared for us!   St. Paul tells us, in fact, that this glory is beyond anything we have ever heard or seen—anything that we could even imagine (1 Corinthians 2:9).

That doesn’t sound boring, does it?   Our most magnificent experiences and imaginings can’t even begin to express the wonders that God has in store for us.

There’s another clue in this passage about what heaven might be like:  we will “follow the Lamb wherever he goes” (Revelation 14:4).   Just think what it would have been like to follow Jesus during his public ministry.   It was anything but boring.   In fact, it was full of surprises.   For instance, you didn’t know where your next meal was coming from: a rich official or a little boy with a lunch basket.   You didn’t know what kind of reception awaited you in each town:  you might be welcomed warmly or shooed away.   You didn’t know whom you would encounter next: a blind man, a funeral procession, a troubled demoniac, or even Moses and Elijah!   And you certainly wouldn’t expect him to send you off on a mission trip and tell you to take nothing with you but your sandals and a walking stick!   If life with Jesus was this exciting then, it certainly won’t be any less so with him in heaven.

We can’t begin to imagine how wonderful heaven will be, but we certainly can rest assured that we won’t be bored!

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