William Shatner (Captain Kirk to Star Trek fans) has boldly gone where no 90-year-old man has gone before – into space! Wednesday (10/13/21) he and three other people made the suborbital trip aboard the privately-owned reusable space capsule New Shepard.
Prior to the weather-delayed adventure Shatner expressed some nervousness and said he really wanted to get back to earth. Nevertheless, he looked forward to the event and was certain he would be “entranced by the view.” He was not disappointed.
Upon returning from his ten-minute trek, Shatner tearfully exclaimed that it had been a “most profound experience.” He hoped he would “never recover,” but would continue to feel the exhilaration.
Jesus ascended to Heaven to prepare a place for the redeemed of all the ages. He promised to return and receive us to Himself so we can be where He is. Christians joyfully anticipate dwelling with the Lord and all His saints in that city foursquare, though we may be a bit nervous about the flight itself. However, we won’t be going “where no man has gone before.” Jesus is not only Deity, but man; and He has made the trip!
Weather cannot delay our passage, and time will be irrelevant. We will not return to earth. Why would we even want to do that? “Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Pet. 3:10).
And oh, the view! Revelation describes it as a huge city with a street of gold and high walls adorned with precious jewels. We should understand these things symbolically because Heaven is a spiritual realm; but since the reality is always greater than the symbol, we certainly won’t be disappointed.
Imagine the thrill of being in Heaven! Feature joining with myriads of angels giving endless praise to Him who created us, loved us, and redeemed us. To borrow Shatner’s words, we will never recover!
I have no desire to go into space, though I’m happy for William Shatner that he did. Let our focus be on going to Heaven. It will be a most profound experience!
