Real life

“All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” C.S. Lewis - “The Last Battle” (1956)

“This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” C.S. Lewis - “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (1952)

“There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.” C.S. Lewis - “Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis” (2006)

“The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.” C.S. Lewis - “The Weight of Glory” (1949)

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” C.S. Lewis - “Mere Christianity”

Since Joshua went to his eternal Home, I cannot stop thinking about Heaven.

I started reading everything I could find about heaven. I read all kinds of books of people claiming they died, went to heaven and God allowed them to come back. I listened to every detail they gave, so I could imagine how Joshua was.

I was so hurt, and my emotions were so high. I wanted to learn everything about heaven. But then, I heard a comment about a passage in the Bible, "even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you ... don’t believe" then I decided to try to stick only to what the Bible said about heaven and set other people’s experiences aside.

One day I heard a message on Matthew 18:8, where Jesus said, “It is better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.” To die is to enter real life.

My dad, my mom, my grandparents, my sweet Aunt Carmen are all in heaven. Now Joshua is in heaven as well. I really want to go to heaven too.

Since my mother went to heaven, I really desired for Jesus to return, but after Joshua’s passing, I couldn’t think of anything else but of Jesus’ return.

I do not feel that my home is here anymore, mainly because most of my loved ones are in heaven, but also because I can see the way the world is going, and I do not like it anymore.

Recently, I read a message that said that we should not pray for Jesus' return just because we want to get out of here for the sake of leaving all pain and suffering from this world. Instead, we need to pray for Jesus’ coming because we want His name to be glorified and the Kingdom of God to be established finally. We need to pray for the end of all evil and for Jesus' sovereign rule.

When I started writing this post, my thoughts were about how heaven would look like. Thinking of Joshua more than anything, I wonder what he will be doing in heaven.

Now that I return to this writing, my mind is OK with whatever heaven would look like. If God is there, if Jesus is there, if the Holy Spirit is there, if my loved ones are there, it is the most beautiful place I want to be forever.

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Jesus prayed,

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24)

Then The Apostle Paul wrote,

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.

For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who died (have fallen asleep).

We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who died (have fallen asleep).

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died (dead in Christ) will rise from their graves.

Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.

So, encourage each other with these words”. (1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18)

“Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22: 20)