The Beauty of Heaven!

Yesterday as I was touring the state Capitol in Harrisburg, I was struck by the beauty of the place. In fact, it is so beautiful that the Smithsonian in Washington, DC, ranked Pennsylvania's Capitol as the most beautiful of the fifty state capitols. Based on what I saw, I can most definitely believe it! The gold leaf that is everywhere must be worth millions of dollars! And that is only a part of the Capitol's beauty. It is indeed a striking structure.

At one point on our tour, Dr. Hibaile, my friend from the Central African Republic (one of the poorest nations on earth) commented, "Ahh . . . the New Jerusalem!" As I reflected on his words, it hit me that if I thought the place was beautiful - he, coming from his world of abject poverty, must have been quite overwhelmed by the opulence he was seeing! And so for him, all the ornate beauty spoke to him of the glory that awaits us in heaven!

I felt a gentle rebuke at that point. I must admit that I had no thoughts of heaven as he did. But I surely can see why he was thinking of heaven! Today as we journey through this life ... compared to what awaits us in heaven ... we are trudging through a world of abject poverty! We cannot begin to imagine what God has prepared for us in the world to come (1 Corinthians 2:9). So let's determine to think and think regularly of heaven, lest we become so earthly minded that we are no heavenly good!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj