Bodies on Earth, Hearts In Heaven

Q

Thank you for your insightful words of wisdom that I constantly wait for weekly. My husband and I look forward to each and every article that will help us with our study and understanding of the Bible. One question that has come up recently is where in the Bible does either Jesus or someone else state that as born again Christians we must live in this fallen world but our hearts should be in heaven”? Or something like that. Your help in answering this is much appreciated.

A

I’ve heard preachers express this as being “in” the world but not “of” the world. In Matt. 6:19-21 Jesus said we shouldn’t store up treasure here on Earth. He said we should store up treasure in Heaven instead, because where our treasure is there will our heart be also.

Variations on this theme run throughout the New Testament. In Philippians 3:20 Paul said our citizenship is in Heaven and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so they will be like His glorious body.

In Romans 12:2 he told us not to conform any longer to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And in 2 Cor. 4:18 he said not to fix our eyes on what is seen, but on what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

As believers we are supposed to see this life as nothing more than a temporary state of being. Our our permanent life awaits us in heaven and that should be the focus of our attention. When you compare the 70 or 80 years we’ll spend here with the eternity we’ll spend there, it’s easy to see which is the more significant part of our overall existence.

All things considered, I think having our bodies on Earth and our hearts in Heaven is a good description of the ideal Christian life.