I've been thinking a lot lately about the place called 'There'.

'Is there such a place?' You might be asking. Well, according to the Bible there certainly is, and how very appealing it is to me at this moment of time. Of course it ought to be appealing every day, but just now thoughts and longings for this wonderful place seem to resonate in the depths of my soul with more intensity than before. Perhaps they do with yours as well bearing in mind all the suffering and devastation that has been brought to our attention of late through the news and social media.

In the Bible a very distressed man in his darkest hour when his suffering was most extreme spoke these heart stirring words concerning a place beyond the realms of the here and now:

"There the wicked cease from troubling;
and there the weary be at rest"
Job 3: 17

Who in their right mind wouldn't sincerely be looking forward to being in such a place as this?

* The writer tells us that this is a place where there is no strife, grief or wickedness.
* 'There', is where weariness and sadness, broken hearts and disappointments are a thing of the past.
* Lifetimes of hard unappreciated labour, sickness of body and mind, striving to make ends meet are no more.
* The suffering of the martyr is over forever; for in this wonderful place there is no fear of persecution.
* Everyone there is at liberty to sing the praises of the Lover of their soul, and all are able to praise and adore Him without the distraction of the nature within that is contrary to the purity of such a place 'wherein dwells righteousness.'

Many of us know loved ones who are actually there right now! And we get that longing to be reunited with them. Somehow the pain of being separated from them is more intense than at other times and we miss them so much. We have a longing to be 'there' as well and to enjoy the rest of this wonderful place for ourselves. And most of all, we long to be with the One who has prepared a place called 'There' for all those He came to save.

And where is this unspeakably wonderful place?

* David, the sweet Psalmist of Israel called 'there' - "the house of the Lord".
* The Lord Jesus called 'there', - "my Father's house".
* The Apostle Paul called 'there' - a place where departed Christian friends or relatives are "with the Lord, which is far better."
* We affectionately call 'there' - "heaven"!
* A friend of ours long ago said: 'I don't know where heaven is but I guess where the Lord Jesus is, that will be heaven for me!" What a lovely thought, how beautiful, echoing the above thought of the Apostle Paul.

Sadly not everyone has an interest in such a fair destination; for hardness of heart has got the better of them. And sadly not everyone who hopes to be there one day will actually arrive in the end because the Lord of this place has already specified how to acquire a position 'there'. It is certainly not by application or by impression!

Firstly, He does not require anyone to qualify because none of us would ever be able to do that! No amount of good works, church going or prayer would ever be enough to earn the right to be 'there'. He sees each individual in their desperate need and has already done everything required. All who understand that He is the remedy for their need can come into the good of all that He has already accomplished.

But what is that need? and what has He done to rectify it?

The problem of sin has scuppered any hope of having an eternal home there for those who dare to leave this earth without it ever having been cleansed and paid for. Sin is the dreadful thing that separates all of us from a loving God who would have all people to be saved and enjoy the assurance of a home there with Him forever.

All those who have passed on and have already arrived in this wonderful place know that they are there because of Someone else's effort, and not their own. And those of us who have the assurance of being there one soon day as well are going to know the very same thing.

This is because the Bible tells us of another 'there', and for all intents and purposes it looked like this was the place where mankind was getting the upper hand on God when we read: 

"And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary,
there they crucified Him."
Luke 23: 33

Indeed, that's exactly what they did, which is basically what mankind in general thought of God's Son - and still do even to this day, but actually this is the very place where Jesus dealt with the question of sin, once for all!

It was on Calvary's centre cross long ago that this sinless, spotless, Man bore in His body God's righteous judgment that our sin deserved. This was the very reason why He came to earth in the first place.

But what He accomplished all that time ago can only make an impact in our lives when we apply this truth to our lives by faith. And in sincere humility and repentance of the sin He paid for we need to trust wholly in this amazing Substitute. This will bring flooding in the promises of eternal salvation and the guaranteed place 'there' when we finally leave this earth.

For without the 'there' of Calvary,
there would be no assurance of a place called 'there' in heaven
for any of us to look forward to!

Jesus who will be the object of adoring praise and the very centre of all our devotion will forever bear in His hands and feet the marks of Calvary as a constant reminder that none of us would be 'there' were it not for His great act of unconditional love.

Now, the wonderful thing about having this guarantee is the great honour of getting to know our Rescuer; for the One who came deliver us from the power, the guilt and the eternal consequences of our sin is alive in that place called there today! The Lord Jesus our great Deliverer is a real Man alive in heaven even as you read these words, and He is within reach of all who truly long for Him.

Great and true is the promise that says:

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled."
Matthew 5: 6

Paul Young writes these wonderful words:

"Righteousness is doing what is right, doing what God intended us to do. As a thirsty man in a desert craves for water to quench his parched lips, so the people of God should hunger and thirst for righteousness to quench their parched souls. The pursuit of righteousness is really a seeking after Christ, because He is our Righteousness. Therefore, the closer we draw to Him the more like Him we will be and the longings of our heart will then be truly satisfied."

This reminds me of these verses from the Bible that appear to beautifully compliment the above thought from Paul Young:

"Delight thyself also in the LORD;
and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart."
Psalm 39: 4.

"For he satisfieth the longing soul,
and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."
Psalm 107: 9.

Long ago a friend passed on to me a beautiful piece of writing from the hymn writer George Mattheson who was responsible for writing the beautiful hymn: "O Love that will not let me go".

I believe he knew what it was like to long for there ... for the Father's house ... for heaven! His heart was in heavenly places and all his longings were there when he wrote these absolutely beautiful words: 

Why do I fancy other scenes before me?
Why do I depict more perfect forms than life has yielded?
Why do I sing more melodious songs than the brook,
more stirring anthems than the sea?
It is because I am not satisfied.
It is because my heart cries for more than Nature,
It cries for Thee.

I consider the lily if the field, but it does not content me.
I consider the song of the brook, but it does not fill me.
I consider the joys of life, but they do not come up to Thee.
I was made for Thee.

 Therefore I paint other fields,
I weave other songs, I fancy other joys;
And all the time I am in search for Thee.
Thou art my picture, my poem and my song;
My dream of beauty is a dream of Thee.

It is because I have seen Thy face
that I seek a new Heaven and a new earth;
It is because I have heard Thy voice
that I aspire to richer than Nature’s music.
“All my springs are in Thee”

George Matheson
(27 March 1842 – 28 August 1906)

O, by the way - I am most certainly considering the idea of creating a song one day soon inspired by these soul stirring and most beautiful words!

May we all have a heart for there in these closing days, and as we are on our journey to this place where our beloved Lord is, may we be found faithful being occupied with that which interests and honours Him.

Look up dear soul, for perhaps the time is nearer than we think when every child of God shall hear the call that heralds our departure from this sad old world to be with our glorious Deliverer, our Lord and lover of our souls, when at last we shall see Him face to face .... THERE!

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>> Please feel free to leave a comment below - it would be lovely to hear from you ♥

So shortly after the above request I find that some of you have have posted in a comment already!
Lovely to hear from you, and thank you for your kind comments:-)

~~~~~

Related Link

No Need of the Sun
He who is to be the centre and light of the future new heavens and earth lives within those who are truly 'born of God'!