He Has You

Heaven will not be a place far away, but the earth we were meant to live on, with heaven reunited and all things made new. We will have a new body, and our memories will be intact. We will still need to eat and drink so that we would nourish our new bodies. But we will be in bodies that will last forever.

Someday we are going to graduate from earth to heaven. “But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own…” (Philippians 3:20-21 NLT).

In heaven, there will still be times and seasons for us to live in. There will be holidays and festivals as reminders of all the good things that God has done. And I am most sure there will still be Christmas as a beautiful remembrance of when Christ was born as the Savior of the world.

The word Bethlehem means the house of bread. It is where the Bread of Life was born in the precious form of a little baby boy named Jesus, that you would live forever. And the Lord Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51 NKJV).

Christmas in heaven will be different than what we experience here on earth. In heaven, we will celebrate our wonderful Father who gave us His Son so that we could be saved forever. Instead of us going out and buying gifts for each other, we will praise God for the wonderful gift He gave to us.

Christmas is for Christ, then why no gifts for Him? Because He is the gift. You can open many gifts this Christmas, but only One gift will bring you everlasting life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).

Christmas in heaven will be a time of gathering where we will get together with friends and family. What a great blessing it will be for those families who have a rich and glorious legacy of faith and godly living throughout their generations. Be the one to start that legacy in your family.

The life you live is the legacy you leave. Paul wrote to Timothy, “when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 NKJV).

Christmas in heaven will be a time of songs and celebration. We will sing songs of Christ and His wonderful gift that He gave to save those who would come to Him. He was born to die for the sins of us all, and for that, we will be eternally grateful.

Christmas without Christ is like living without life. “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 NKJV).

Christmas in heaven will be a time of remembrance for those Christmas days we had on earth. We will look back in awe at all He was doing as we lived our lives here on earth. We will come to learn all that He was doing through everything that we were going through.

Whatever you’re going through, you’re not alone. “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV).

Christmas in heaven will be a time to learn of the great move of heaven that took place so very long ago. When the angels sang, the stars stood still, and God was born in a body. As Jesus took His first breath, all of heaven was watching, though here on earth, only Mary and Joseph were there to watch.

Don’t get so lost in the trappings of Christmas that you miss the plot of the story. “But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God’s children” (Galatians 4:4-5 CEV).

Christmas in heaven will be a day when we can see a replay of those events and understand a little better the magnitude of what it meant for the Father to send His only Son to earth, a world which would mostly reject Him. Jesus the Christ is the Father’s love revealed to us from heaven.

When Jesus was crucified, it displayed man at his worst and God at His best. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NKJV).

Our first Christmas in heaven will be like no other Christmas we have ever had before. We will fall down in adoration and weep in glorious thankfulness as we come to realize more and more the night that time stood still, heaven was watching, angels were singing, and Jesus was born.

Merry Christmas and blessings to you,

Paul Balius