Over the
years, Sears has spent countless time and money creating its “Christmas Wish
Book”. Think about all the planning,
picture taking, organizing, printing and delivery effort it takes to put that
catalogue out each year (especially back in the pre-computer days). Why did they do it?
Obviously,
Sears knew one thing: Pictures
matter. A picture may be “worth a
thousand words”, but in retail a picture is also “worth a few thousand sales”. That is why you receive flyers at your door
each week. Retailers know that if they
can get you to see their item, then you will likely be more interested in it.
Of course,
that strategy worked. As a kid, I would
spend hours looking at the toys in the “Wish Book” and then even more hours
bugging my mom to buy them for me. In particular,
I remember a blue and yellow remote control airplane. I stared at that picture for so long that
even 33 years later I think I could recreate that airplane in exact
detail. Pictures matter!
The
Biblical writers also knew the value of pictures, even if theirs were “word
pictures”, and one of their favorite subjects to “show” was heaven. Consider this description from Hebrews 12: “You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of
the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon
thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose
names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the
spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood” (Verses 22-24).
Can you
imagine the “city of God”? Can you see
“thousands upon thousands of angels”?
Can you feel the joy of their worship? (By the way, how did we ever come to decide
that anything churchy had to be “funeral-like” when every Biblical picture of
heaven is about “joy” and “celebration”?)
Can you see your name written in the book of life (Revelation 20) and
the God who is just waiting for you to come home? What do you think God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit
and the angels look like?
Even if the
image that you come up with is somewhat inaccurate and inadequate (no earthly
words or images will do justice to spiritual things), it is important to have a
picture of heaven, because pictures are motivating. Dreaming of something now will cause us to
alter our “todays” so that our dream comes true “tomorrow”.
What does
heaven look like to you?
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