Reading about heaven makes me a believer

Joan Clayton

In Genesis 1, we read about the beginning: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

In Exodus 34:28, God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and these commandments are a pattern for successful living.

Centuries before Jesus came, many prophecies were made about the coming Messiah. Here are just a few:

Isaiah 9:6 — “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (NIV)

Isaiah 53:6 — “We all have wandered away like sheep; each of us has gone his own way. But the LORD has put on him the punishment for all the evil we have done.” (NCV)

Zechariah 9:9 — “Rejoice greatly, O my people! Shout with joy! For look — your King is coming! He is the Righteous One, the Victor! Yet he is lowly, riding on a donkey’s colt.” (TLB)

God has put the stars in place and they move with exact precision. If planet earth were just a few degrees closer to the sun, everything would burn up and a few degrees further from the sun, everything would freeze. The axis is tilted so there is equal distribution of the sun, making the food chain possible.

I believe where there is a design there is a designer. I also believe there is a void in the human heart, a vacuum that only God can fill.

My grandfather, in his day, never believed a man could go to the moon. Nor did his grandfather dare to believe man could fly from New York to Paris in a jet airplane. Certainly his ancestors didn’t even dream of such a thing as an automobile.

Many of those living in biblical times did not believe either. In spite of the wondrous works of healing the sick, causing the blind to see, the deaf to hear and the lame to walk, Jesus was rejected, ridiculed and crucified.

I’m a believer. Jesus lives in my heart. I have the blessed hope that when I leave this life, I will live with him forever. No, I’m not perfect, but that is why Jesus came … to save mankind from the slavery of sin, and that includes me. That includes you. What a blessed hope. The grave is not the end. Jesus endured the cruelest form of torture for everyone who will accept his loving sacrifice. We cannot fathom the extent of his great love. He is a resurrected loving Savior.

I believe every person born is not here by accident, but for a purpose. I want to fulfill that purpose in my life. Had you or I not been born, we would have missed the greatest love ever given to the human race and I would not have missed that for the world.

I love to read about heaven in Revelation 22:5: “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.”

I’m a believer.

Portales resident Joan Clayton is a retired teacher and published author. Her e-mail address is:

[email protected]