Jesus Christ Offers Foretastes of Heaven

Luke 7:22

2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry gave the men, women, youth, and children around Him amazing foretastes of what is eternal for each of His followers. Those foretastes cover a wide horizon. To name but a few: seeing individuals raised from the dead, seeing other individuals healed spiritually, seeing others healed physically, seeing others healed psychologically. Let’s not make the mistake, however, of thinking that wonderful foretastes of heaven aren’t our experience today. As followers of Jesus Christ, our sins past, present, and future are already all forgiven, yet we experience it anew each time we confess our sins. Immediately afterwards, we want to slow down and savor the specific experience of being forgiven. If we do, we enjoy our delicious foretaste of heaven. Even though our salvation is all-encompassing, it doesn’t mean we don’t sin—any more than it means we never get sick, never suffer trials, never wrestle with temptation, never fail, never fall, never fear cancer, and never end up dying. Aren’t these means, while on this planet, having us to continue longing for heaven?