So This is Paradise

And Jesus replied, "I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43 (NLT)

With her last breath she reached up her arm, never opening her eyes, and opened her hand as if she was taking hold of a hand above her.

As I sat there in that hospice room at my aunt's bedside, I stroked her hair and told her that when He comes it's okay to go. It wasn't too long after gently speaking those words to her that she moved for the first time in days, reaching her hand up and out.

At first, I thought maybe she was reaching out to me, but it later occurred to me that my aunt hadn't been aware of her surroundings since before being admitted to hospice. As the days increased so did her unresponsiveness.

However, at the moment she involuntarily raised her hand I firmly believe she was fully aware of and responding to whom and what she saw; and it wasn't anything or anyone in that room where she was currently lying.

Aunt Alice believed in Jesus Christ and knew she was going to Heaven. But some Christians, and this may be hard to believe (she said sarcastically), would disagree on when exactly that would/will happen for her.

Some argue that believers "sleep" until the final judgement. That is, both their soul and physical body are at rest here on Earth until Christ returns.

Others assert that immediately upon death both believers and non-believers are judged and sent to their eternal destinations. This is a direct flight with no layover.

Then there's the belief that the souls/spirits of believers and non-believers alike are sent to a temporary heaven or hell (depending upon their faith in Jesus Christ while they were alive) to await the final judgment, bodily resurrection, and arrival at their eternal destination. This flight has a layover.

Do you remember what Jesus said to the criminal hanging on a cross beside him?

This thief, in his last moments, professed his belief that Jesus was who He said He was and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. Jesus replied, " I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).

I believe my aunt, because of her faith and belief in Jesus, is in paradise (Heaven) today.

Why do I beleive this?

Let's look at Luke 23:43 again.

The thief asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom.

Jesus never said that when he finally arrived in His kingdom that He would be sure to remember the thief's belief ( I may have to write about "thief belief" another day 😉).

No, Jesus said, "I assure you, TODAY you will be with me in paradise."

Today isn't tomorrow. It isn't next week or next month. And it certainly isn't several millennia.

It is present tense.

It is immediate.

Jesus knew He was about to die, but His words assure us that He entered paradise that very same day and that is why He could assure the thief that he too would enter paradise that very same day.

So, while others debate exactly when a believer enters into the presence of God, I am taking comfort in Jesus' words that "today" we will be with Him in paradise.

Is paradise Heaven?

In reading Randy Alcorn's book Heaven, I believe that paradise is Heaven but it's not the eternal Heaven.

God's dwelling place is in Heaven and God is eternal, but Scripture tells us that He will recreate Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21:1). In light of this, Alcorn's stand is that while God is eternal and unchanging, the present Heaven where God currently dwells is not.

The recreated Heaven on Earth is the eternal Heaven, thus making the present Heaven temporary. Using my analogy above, this temporary Heaven is our layover until our final and eternal destination is (re)created.

I am inclined to believe as Alcorn.

But perhaps instead of debating eternal vs. non-eternal heavens, we should be rejoicing in our eternal God and that we will one day, one way or another, dwell where He dwells for eternity with an imperishable body (1 Corinthians 15:51-53). This resurrection body will not subjected to the pain, sickness, and death to which our current perishable flesh is subjected.

I've never been to a tropical island but I've heard others describe it as "absolute paradise."

Meatloaf, a fave singer of mine in my teenage years, could "see paradise by the dashboard light."

Based on Jesus' words in Luke 23:43, there's no way paradise is ever experienced or seen until we are dwelling in the very presence of God.

In his song, Eddie Money only had two tickets to paradise.

Jesus has a ticket for everyone who believes in Him.

Are you going?