The Longing

One need only read Peter’s description of the inheritance reserved in heaven for the faithful to understand longing. To Peter the promise of the inheritance was not some intellectual exercise or some idea he never seemed to fully grasp, but a reality as certain as the face he touched every morning upon washing it.  

The reality of heaven, the reality of our inheritance, the certainty that it awaits, kept incorruptible and undefiled, ought to produce a longing for our true home in our hearts unmatched heretofore by any other longing we might have experienced along the way.

It is a glorious thing to live each day with the certainty of inheritance. It is a glorious thing to live each day knowing that God Himself is the keeper of said inheritance, and that He will be faithful to deliver it to those He has saved and sanctified unto Himself.

Your deepest longing reveals your truest self. What is it you long for? Is it to see the place Christ went to prepare for us so long ago? Is it to be in His presence, and bask in His glory, and forevermore know the purest of love and joy?

What do you long for? Simple question when you think about it. When all the pretense, and squirming is done with, when all the facades and self-righteous one liners have run their course, when we’ve said ‘God knows my heart’ one too many times, we are confronted with this question once more: what do you long for?

It is a question only I can answer honestly about myself, and one only you can answer honestly about yourself.

If heaven is your longing, if the inheritance is your longing, then the passion for the things of God will be self-evident in all you do. I have a friend whose lifelong dream was to build his own house. For as long as he could remember he’s had this home in his head. He knows exactly where everything goes, from kitchen, to bathroom, to bedroom, to sinks, fixtures, and even drapes, and in his mind it is perfect in every way.

If you get him started he’ll talk about his home for hours, even though he’s only scraped together enough money to build the foundation and nothing more.

In his mind, his home is already built. He sees is when he closes his eyes, and works joyfully towards it even though what he does is backbreaking work.

Do you see your inheritance when you close your eyes? Do you see what God has prepared, and reserved for you exclusively every time you meditate upon the desire of your heart?

It is an easy thing to say we want heaven. Who wouldn’t?

The question that must be asked isn’t so much if we want heaven but rather if we are willing to pay the price, after having counted the cost, in order to attain heaven?

Make no mistake, there is a cost, there is a sacrifice, there is something you will have to part with, something you will have to surrender, something you will have to sacrifice, and knowing the reality of the inheritance that awaits, you will do so joyfully.

Though now for a little while, if need be, we have been grieved by various trials, it ought not to affect us negatively knowing what we know about our inheritance.

We greatly rejoice in the face of persecution, hardship, and even death because we know with absolute certainty that God will give to each one according to their work, and the longing for our eternal home keeps us pressing ever onward towards that prize.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.