Where is heaven?

There is no one like the LORD our God.
He lives in the heights above,
but he bends down
to see the heavens and the earth.
He raises the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from their misery
and makes them companions of princes,
the princes of his people.
(verses 5-8)

Read Psalm 113

Nobody knows where heaven is. The Bible describes heaven but doesn’t reveal its exact location. That’s fine with me. My mind isn’t ready to cope with such a marvel yet anyway. But to help us place it somewhere, the Bible speaks of heaven being up towards the skies. Heaven is ‘up there’—that’s an apt orientation for us to work with in this life. After all, God is eternal. He is mysterious and unsearchable. He is high and mighty—just like the way blue yonder.

But God is also loving, loving enough to have left that exquisite home. Jesus came down to our level and associated with the poor, the needy, the unworthy—folks like you and me. He came to lift you up, to help you with your deepest needs, and to take you to be with him in heaven. Jesus said, ‘I will come back again and take you to myself, so that you will be where I am’ (John 14:3b).

Dear Jesus, ‘bless all the dear children with thy tender care, and fit us for heaven, to live with thee there’. Amen.

by Simon Cooper, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

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