March 10, 2024
19th century preacher CH Spurgeon describes preaching about Heaven one Sunday….
I remember standing in the pulpit one sultry summer afternoon, preaching the joys of heaven, and there was one woman’s eye that especially caught mine. I knew not why it was, but it seemed to fascinate me. And as I spoke of heaven, she seemed to drink in every word, and her eyes flashed back again the thoughts I uttered. She seemed to lead me on to speak more and more of the streets of gold and the gates of pearl, till suddenly her eyes appeared to me to be too fixed. At last it struck me that, while I had been talking of heaven, she had gone there!
I paused and asked if someone in the pew would kindly see whether the friend sitting there was not dead, and in a moment her husband said, “She is dead, sir.” I had known her long as a consistent Christian, and as I stood there, I half wished that I could have changed places with her. There was not a sigh nor a tear. She seemed to drink in the thoughts of heaven, and then immediately go and enjoy it.*
No-one knows the day or hour when we will breathe our last, but in the words of Paul, to be with the Lord is ‘better by far’ (Philippians 1 v23). Never forget – we have promises that outlast all our years. This is our hope. This is the future. Begin living in that assurance today.
*2200 quotations of Spurgeon
Julian Holdsworth
BSBC Pastor