So . . . most often when I think about heaven, I think in terms of lightening the load. The burden of dealing with this fallen world, and the fallen men who shake their fists at God, will be removed (well, actually I’ll be removed). I’ll be loosed of the on-going struggle with the old-man . . . and the battle with an aging body. Even gravity will give way to soaring. I think of heaven and I think light . . . as in, not heavy. But I came across a phrase this morning in 2Corinthians that has me re-thinking this a bit . . .

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.   (2Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV)

There it is . . . embedded within verse 17 . . . “an eternal weight of glory” . . . Chew on that.

If anyone knew the oppressive load of doing life “under the sun” it was Paul. In fact, that’s what he says . . . “afflicted, but not crushed . . . perplexed, but not in despair . . . persecuted, but not forsaken . . . struck down, but not destroyed” (4:4-9). But Paul could also say, “We do not lose heart.” By God’s grace, and the focusing ministry of the Spirit, Paul could look beyond “the transient” and to the “the eternal” . . . with the eye of faith his gaze transcended “the things that are seen” and instead, gazed upon “the things that are unseen.”

And when he looked beyond the “here and now” and to the “there and then” he saw a great weight . . . an eternal weight . . . a weight of glory that made the troubles of the day seem like “slight momentary afflictions”.

Hmmm . . . think about it. The trials and tribulations of this life are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison. Our losses here are being factored into great gain there. Whatever weight we feel we’re carrying today will pale in comparison to the massive amount of glory we’ll inherit in that day when faith gives way to sight and we’ll be in that place the Lord is even now preparing for us.

Not that the promised weight of glory changes the reality of our struggles today . . . but it does put them into context. The weight of glory that awaits us is beyond comparing with the weight of gutting out life that is in front of us. It’s a rout . . . no contest . . . not even on the same page. The measure, the excellence, the superiority of what awaits those who trust in the finished work of Christ is so far beyond the burden of the day.

And so, Paul says, we do not lose heart. We look beyond the temporal and peer into the eternal. Though the outer man is taking a beating and losing steam, the inner man is being renewed day by day . . . as we look toward THAT DAY . . . and an eternal weight of glory.

Oh, that by the grace of God and the mind-renewing work of the Spirit, I would not lose focus on the “heaviness” of heaven . . . that the weight of my day to day struggles would constantly be compared with the beyond measure load of glory that awaits me . . . that things that are unseen would constantly be on my radar . . . that I would not lose heart . . .

For His glory . . . amen.