John 17:24

Have you ever been on a vacation to a warm tropical place in the middle of the winter?  Inevitably you stopped by the gift shop and saw the postcard rack with a number of images that captured the fun and enjoyment you were having and your friends back home weren’t.  Across the front were printed the words, “Wish you were here!” Not that you were serious about your friends or other family members joining you on your vacation, but the card was meant to rub it in that you were enjoying a great vacation while others went on with the grind of life.

Can you imagine if God sent you a postcard from heaven which said, “Wish you were here?” but really was just “rubbing it in” that you had to still endure a world filled with hardship, tragedy and suffering.  Quite the opposite!  As Jesus prayed, he said, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am.”  Jesus has a heartfelt desire for you.  He absolutely wants you to join him in heaven.  Yet he doesn’t just wish it, but also provided the means to get there.  He sends you an “all expense paid ticket” which he personally paid for with his perfect life, his suffering and death, and glorious resurrection.  There’s nothing more that you have to do or pay to get it; it’s a free gift by faith in him.

When life gets challenging, we oftentimes think of our favorite vacation spot and “wish we were there.”  Today Jesus is inviting you, in the midst of whatever life brings you, to look forward to the eternity in heaven he has paid for you to enjoy and not just “wish you were there,” but look forward to actually being there!