My friend and I stood at the pastry stall, debating our choices.
“I’d really like to get the chocolate croissant, but only if it has the chocolate filling!”
“I think it does,” I said.
We attempted to examine the croissants, but there was no way to tell from the outside whether there was that lovely, gooey chocolate hidden in the pastries’ folds.
“Are you sure it has it?”
“Well, yes. I’ve bought from this store before, and that croissant has always had a chocolate center.”
With that, my friend and I each bought one, and when we bit into them, we were delighted to find the sweet chocolate center there as we had hoped. I believed that the croissant would have its delicious filling because I had tried it before and found it to be true.
To me, heaven can be compared to that hidden chocolate center. Based on what we can see, we cannot be sure that it’s there. So, how can we know with absolute certainty that heaven is real?
Well, heaven is promised in God’s Word. “Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole” (1 Peter 1:3–5 MSG).
Heaven is our incorruptible inheritance, a place where there will be no more tears, death, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). I can’t see heaven yet, but I have seen the fulfillment of many of God’s other promises.
His mercies never end, they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22–23). He gives me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). He’s given me peace (Philippians 4:7). He’s never forsaken me (Hebrews 13:5). Those are some of the promises in God’s Word that I’ve seen Him fulfill, and there are many more.
I believe that I will experience eternal life with Jesus in heaven, a place beyond my wildest imaginations (1 Corinthians 2:9), because I have already experienced the fulfillment of God’s other promises. He has proven to be always true to His Word. Every single word that the Lord has promised has been fulfilled (Joshua 23:14).
Heaven is promised to all who believe in and receive Jesus. God has never failed to keep His promises, and we can be sure that He never will.