Did you watch any fireworks over the Fourth of July holiday?
According to Wallethub, America spent about 2.4 billion dollars on fireworks in some 16,000 civic displays. These civic displays cost anywhere between $5,000 and $200,000. All told, we import about $301,000,000 worth of fireworks—97% of those from China.
About 37% of Americans attend fireworks displays of some kind. My wife and I are among them.
While waiting to view the show in front of us, some neighboring towns behind us were blasting away with theirs. We were only a couple of miles away from the distant blasts, but I was struck by how wimpy the sound of those vast explosions was.
Though impressive in person, the audio quickly loses its bombast with just a bit of distance.
Something else I’ve noticed over the years. At the beginning of a fireworks show, every eye is fully engaged as the first few rockets blast into the sky. But before too long, some younger kids lose just a bit of interest. And some moms and dads are fiddling with their phones—and no, they aren't all posting photos. They are—unthinkably—bored. Or at least distracted. Think of that.
Call me crazy, but whenever we get to the “Grand Finale," the image of heaven comes to mind. I think of the twelve gates, each made of a single pearl. I think about the streets of gold and the River of Life, and the living creatures. And, of course, I think about King Jesus.
But of this, you can be assured. When we finally reach heaven, we will never have occasion for boredom or distraction. Our enjoyment of God and our amazement at being in His presence will never fade, never grow old, and never lose the slightest bit of enchantment. It will be forever new, forever amazing, forever a sanctified sensory overload.
So, forget the tired image of wimpy Christians clustered on clouds plucking harps half-heartedly. Heaven is better. WAY better than that.
That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”
-1 Corinthians 2:9