A Whiff of Heaven

Our sense of smell is something we rarely think about until we actually smell something. Many people are sensitive to certain scents, so they are unable to be around strong perfumes or to use certain laundry detergents.

Often certain scents or smells trigger a memory within us. The smell of orange blossoms will always remind me of springtime in the area where I lived for many years. I loved to drive the long way home every spring just to deeply breathe in air infused with the glorious scent of hundreds of acres of fresh orange blossoms. I would have loved to have found a way to bottle it for the rest of the year. We were sad when commercial developers chopped down decades of orange groves for mere shopping centers.

The smell of salty ocean waves brings me a thirst for the beach, a yearning to hurry from my car to the shore, where I can press my toes into soft, cool sand and walk along the water’s edge. I find peace and gentle joy simply in being at the beach.

Scents sometimes bring us into direct contact with a hope we wish would hurry. Does anyone else’s mouth besides mine water when you get a good whiff of barbecue? My teeth hanker for a piece of those tender ribs when I smell them. Well, last week, I got a good whiff of something I rarely smell, and it got me hankering for home… my heavenly home.

I got to watch the K-Love Fan Awards last week. What a star-studded gala! How awesome the stories and the music. How beautiful the tribute to Dr. Billy Graham. Every song, even every shoutout, brought glory to the Lord. Despite the awards and the joking around, I felt like I was at a two-hour worship service, and I loved it. My voice and sometimes even my hands were lifted in worship through many of the songs played.

I thought, is this what heaven is going to be like?

Greater than any king, greater than any dignitary or royalty, imagine Jesus walking out from behind the side curtains and heading toward center stage at the Grand Ole Opry. We would not be silent and refined like we often are at church on Sunday morning.

The whole place would jump up on its feet and erupt in shouts and screams of praise.

Arms and hands would be flailing. Phones would be dropping. Feet would be stomping. Hallelujahs and gasps and songs of praise and cries of joy would strike the ceiling and bounce back to hit the heads of angels!

Our elation would immediately become fever pitch as we realized that the One Whom we have trusted, worshiped, prayed to, and loved, sight unseen, was right before our very eyes!

There is no telling when all that glory and praising and shouting would stop. Perhaps at the same moment that we realized Who was now in the room, we would all drop down on our hands and knees, then fall fully prostrate on the floor, face down, in pure worship with crying and shrieks of gratitude and whispers of delight. All those K-Love fan awards would be tossed at His feet, and all those Christian artists would be on their faces before Him, just like we would be.

There would be no more talk about what we drive, where we’ve traveled, or how many concerts we performed at last year. There would be no more comparisons with friends, colleagues, and other ministries about how many donations were received or how many people were helped. No more would it matter what type of house we lived in or how many hours a week we worked out or how big our investments were. There would no longer be any single people there, or any married people. We would all just be on our faces before the living God. And He wouldn’t have to say a word.

The astonishing sense of awe, peace, delight, and joy at being in His presence would overwhelm our senses, overwhelm our desires, overwhelm our fears. And these entities that we have relied on our entire lives for validation would completely lose their power over us forever.

To see one of the best depictions of this overwhelming sense of awe and joy in seeing the face of our Lord, if you are on Facebook, click here to see the painting, The First Day in Heaven by Christian painter, Kerolos Safwat: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10206940055321204&set=a.2303479867788.2104124.1272960198&type=3&theater

Is this what heaven is going to be like?

I’m not certain, but I sure got a whiff of it last Thursday night. A big whiff, but only just a whiff. It got me hankering for heaven.

NOTE: Next week I’m going to share photos and a review from our first annual Christian singles beach retreat in North Carolina. It was a success. God moved in a wonderful way, on top of all the goofiness and fun we had!

I checked out several (at least 14) other Christian singles retreats that were happening this year. Ours was the only one on a beach! We were able to acquire several more beds this year for next year’s retreat, so we will be opening registration to Christian singles all over the US! We’re excited about having many of you join us. Stay tuned!