What a joy and relief it is to get off a flight, gather your luggage, and find a loved one waiting for you there!  We search the sea of faces in joyous anticipation of seeing the one we know, the one who has come just for us.  There is a happy reunion with someone special whom you haven’t seen in a long time.  There’s much to talk about and a lot to get caught up on.  No matter how difficult the flight was, it is all over, it is in the past, and it is quickly forgotten because of what lies before us.

I think that is how going to heaven will be.  It will not matter whether the transition is quick and easy, or long and difficult.  When we cross over, we will be greeted by the familiar faces of lost loved ones.  The past will be forgotten in the excitement of finally having arrived.  There will be so much to talk about, so much joy.  Never again will there be a good-bye.

Not only will our loved ones be there to meet and greet us, but the One Who paid for our ticket will be there as well to welcome us to our eternal home.  What a joyous arrival that will be, overshadowing anything we have experienced on earth.  Coming home to loved ones.  To Jesus.  (February 9, 2016  Hyderabad, India, based on a blog written in 2004(

Revelation 22:1-5 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

Do you long for heaven like you long for your destination after a long and difficult flight?  Do you have as much joy in your anticipation of seeing Jesus as you do in your anticipation of seeing your loved ones when you travel?  Spend some time thinking about what that reunion will be like. Picture it in your mind, when Jesus grabs you and hugs you, assuring you of His love and eternal life with Him.