Sermon snippet – Simply Heaven – Part XII
INTRODUCTION – There are numerous old Gospel songs that link mothers and heaven, for many good Christian women have shown us the way to God’s golden gates. One such song asks the question, “Will my mother know me there?” Luke 9:28-36 answers this question for us.
- WE WILL KNOW EACH BELIEVER IN HEAVEN
The Mount of Transfiguration is a glimpse of our elysian eternity. It is no surprise that we immediately recognize Jesus. Who could we possibly confuse with God the Son? However, note that Moses and Elijah were also immediately recognizable, even though no pictures of them existed. We will be changed as we enter God’s abode, but we will need no name tags.
- WE WILL BE KNOWN IN HEAVEN
There is no celebrity status in heaven. Each believer is an heir of God the Father and a joint-heir with God the Son (Romans 8:17). Moses and Elijah, great men of God, will not be more important in heaven than you and me. We will be transformed in our resurrection bodies (I Corinthians 15:49-53), but we will still be ourselves (I Corinthians 15:38).
- WE WILL KNOW JESUS AND BE KNOWN BY HIM
Luke 9:35-36 makes it clear that the most significant aspect of the Mount of Transfiguration is Jesus. Jesus knows everything about us now, including the number of hairs on our heads (Matthew 10:30). He does not change and will know all about us forever. He will welcome us personally into heaven (Matthew 25:21, 23) and will desire to richly reward us. We will meet Him face to face (I Corinthians 13:12). (As an aside, if our faces are acceptable to Jesus, we should gratefully accept them just as they are. The same is true of the bodies that He has given us.)
CONCLUSION – We began with the question, “Will my mother know me there?” The chorus correctly answers that query:
Yes, I know that she will know me
In those mansions bright and fair.
Mother’s love can ne’er forget me,
And I’m sure she’ll know me there.
Two closing thoughts are paramount. First, what is true of a mother is eternally true of Jesus (Luke 13:34). Second, we can leave behind a legacy of certainty. The last gift that we can present to our loved ones is the promise that we will be in heaven, awaiting their arrival. Through faith in Jesus Christ, may each one of us be sure of the salvation that guarantees a home in His heaven.