Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— I was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.”- 2 Corinthians 12:1-4
Insight: Sometimes scripture is so mysteriously powerful it really leaves you wanting more. One of the questions I have always had is what did Paul see exactly when he was “caught up to the third heaven” that allowed him to persevere through so many hardships and intense persecutions and yet never lose his focus or his commitment to Jesus for one moment. He saw something so majestic, so supernatural, so immensely beautiful that regardless of what he faced on earth, he saw it as just a temporary speed bump on the road to eternal glory. If you listen to what he endured in 2 Corinthians 11:23-27 you can only conclude that he must have seen something that was beyond his ability to explain it because it was so great. Who could endure even a portion of what Paul did just in these few verses and still wish to continue on preaching to tell others about the object of his affection, the Lord Jesus Christ? Listen to what he said about his suffering in pursuit of eternal glory: “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”
So the question remains: What did Paul see? Let your imagination run wild, let it give you hope beyond your wildest dreams, let all your fear melt away because Paul must have seen something so glorious that his life must have appeared to him as a vapor, or a mist on the way home to what he saw which he apparently knew could never be taken away or lost. It allowed him to pen amazing things, almost 75% of the New Testament according to some, from prison, while in chains, or under false indictment. In Philippians 4:11-13 he writes some of my favorite lines of the entire Bible: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” What great perspective! What great strength! What great hope we can glean from this passage.
So, what did Paul see? I guess we won’t know exactly until we join him in the 3rd heaven for those of us who believe, but it can truly make you yearn to get a small glimpse of it, just to give your senses the jolt that obviously Paul got to experience that made him one of the most content, courageous and triumphant Christians who ever lived. It allowed him to write these words, which only make sense if he knew something that the rest of us haven’t experienced ourselves on this side of eternity: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”- What did Paul see?
Prayer: Father God, we can only imagine how glorious heaven is. We get little ideas of the majesty of it by reading about the faith of people like the Apostle Paul, who saw something so amazing it allowed him to endure everything that came his way, not only with contentment but with an eagerness to get through it so he could be closer to returning home to what he saw. I can hardly wait to meet Jesus face to face and to finally see what exactly Paul saw. Amen!
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