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HEAVEN SHALL BE OPENED TO YOU

SCRIPTURE READINGS:
1 SAMUEL 3:1-10
1 CORINTHIANS 6:12-20
JOHN 1:14-20

REFLECTION
The theme for our reflection is Heaven Shall be open to you. Heaven is believed to be the dwelling place of God, therefore “heaven shall be open to you means you will experience or see the glory of God. It is indeed a blessing to experience the glory of God or experience open Heaven in our lives. We shall reflect on the following facts:
1. Heaven shall be opened to those who united with our Lord Jesus Christ
2. Heaven shall be opened to those who respond to the call of God

Firstly, heaven shall be opened to those who are united with our Lord Jesus Christ. When we have a relationship with Jesus, we experience the glory of God in our lives because He is “the Word that became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). However, heaven or the glory of God shall remain hidden from us if we continue to walk in sin or darkness. It is for this reason Paul admonishes us that “…whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:17-20). In other words, our relationship with Jesus enables us to experience the glory of God through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. To be united with Jesus means that we have been saved and consecrated to God to become heirs of the Heavenly Kingdom. We cannot walk in sin and at the same time be united with Jesus. It is impossible! For heaven to be opened to us or for us to experience the glory of God we are greatly admonished not to be lukewarm. Jesus says “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth…So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Revelation 3:15-16, 19-22). Dear friend in Christ, grace is available to us now and the choice is ours now. Let us unite with Jesus through repentance, regeneration and faith so that heaven will remain open to us.

Secondly, after we have united with our Lord Jesus Christ, heaven shall remain open to those who respond to the call of God. When Eli realized that Samuel had received the call of God without knowing, He said to Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel! ” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:9-10). Beloved in the Lord, the Lord is still calling us to experience His glory or open heaven through service. All we are required to do is to respond, “Speak, for your servant is listening” The Lord does not only call us but invites us to experience His power and glory and to become His instrument of transformation in the world. It is for this reason that Isaiah “heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us? ”
He said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). Dear friend, those of us who have been saved have a purpose and before heaven will be opened to us, we must surrender ourselves, respond to God’s call and serve Him with our bodies for God said to Jeremiah “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5) Dear friend in the Lord, God knows us and wants us to experience His glory but how many of us are willing to respond to the call. Like Samuel we are required to say “Speak your servant is listening” and go ahead to “offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1)

In summary, we have reflected on the theme “Heaven shall be opened to you” We have discovered that Heaven shall be opened to those who are united with our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, Heaven shall remain open to those who respond to the call of God. May Heaven remain open to us and may the Holy Spirit empower us to remain united with Jesus Christ even as we avail ourselves to fulfil our calling to God. Amen.