Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand.

Colossians 3:1

Heaven. Many people believe it is a paradise where ALL “good people” go when they die, the ones who don’t murder or steal. And they’re quite clear that the murderers and thieves go to the other place that is not at all pleasant. To others, heaven is a myth: something dreamed up centuries ago by religious leaders to control the masses. To followers of Jesus, however, it is not only a very, very real place we can only reach through Jesus Himself, but it is also a central message throughout Scripture. It is where Jesus resides, and therefore it is our true home. 

Setting our sights on “the realities of heaven” doesn’t mean sitting around every day daydreaming about what it will be like. It means putting heaven’s priorities at the top of our to-do lists. It means recognizing the temporary state of our earthly lives, and knowing in our hearts that our true home is where Jesus lives. (John 14:2-3) We “set our sights” on heaven when the One in heaven is FAR more important to us than anything on earth. So we set out to do on earth what Jesus did on earth. He loved, He fed, He served. But most of us in our culture don’t live that way. Instead, we focus on meaningless, pointless pursuits that won’t last and have no place in heaven. We set our sights on all the stuff advertised and the accomplishments of others. And in the end, even when we own all the stuff and exceed other’s accomplishments, we are not satisfied. All the stuff and striving become burdens that distract us from heaven and the One on the throne. 

Your heart will always follow what you treasure (Matthew 6:21). When you focus your heart on the realities of heaven, it will change your life on earth. Your burdens will fall away, and your smile will return. You will live differently: you will want fewer material things, your long list of frustrations and annoyances will drastically diminish, you will live joyfully, and you will love bigger. When you keep your eyes on heaven, you will have so much more than Jesus’s perspective; you will also have His heart. You are loved!