There are also young people here who are now turning their brains off, because why bother with ageing, it's a long way off. In my old church I had a 12 year old girl who watched the sermon as if she was really listening. She later confessed she had no idea what I was talking about, she just learned how to watch. Still, this is an important topic because everyone comes of age sooner or later and then we PASS AWAY. If we are believers, we go to heaven, if not, we don't.
Psalm 23:6
„Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6 ESV
The passage of time with Satan
Someone has said that Satan has no happy old people (all nonbelievers are under his control because they obey him, whether consciously or unconsciously). That is, if one grows old without God, one will not be happy. There may be exceptions, but perhaps this is generally true.
That's because Satan and God WORKS CONVERSELY. Satan gives the best first and the worst at the end. E.g.:
„Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be full of gravel.” Proverbs 20:17 ESV
Things given by Satan always seem good at the beginning, but in the end they only lead to trouble. So it is with a life controlled by Satan. If you were to ask a young person today how they feel, they might say, "My life couldn't get any better." (at least that's what I see in school.) And he doesn't know he's telling the truth because it really isn't getting better, it's getting worse. Of course, life can have ups and downs, but the end is always worse than the beginning. There is a warning at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes:
„Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. ... Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”;” Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:1 ESV
The more birthdays you have, the more you feel it. The ageing process. The body ages (Majka) Moreover, at the very end, the worst comes. An unbeliever never ceases to exist, he just continues to exist in hell forever. Satan puts the best first and leaves the worst for last.
The passage of time with Jesus
Jesus works the other way round. He gives the best at the end. For example, the wedding at Cana, John 2:1-11 With Jesus everything gets better and better, and if you walk with Him it will always be that way, for the rest of your life. My own life is an example. After every change God has brought in my life, it has only gotten better for me. So God always leaves the best for last. It's already good, but there's even better to come.
This is expressed in Psalm 23:6. The lamb on the way home looks back and sees two "sheepdogs" following the flock along the road, the goodness and love of God. Brothers and sisters! Without God's goodness and love we could not walk the narrow road. Think now of your life so far, how much God has done in your life. You will be able to share these in your testimonies.
Isaiah describes it this way:
"Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.” Isaiah 46:3-4 ESV
When you grow old with God, your life gets better and better. Of course, your body ages in the same way, and there are physical problems, but you experience them differently. You will bear the fruit of the Spirit, you will love Jesus more and more, and you will have more and more peace.
„So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” 2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV
And at the end of your life on earth, you go home. David testifies that he will dwell in the house of the Lord forever (this seems to be what the original Hebrew text seems to imply).
House of the Lord (Heaven)
Certainty
David does not say perhaps, but certainly goodness and faithfulness will accompany him all his life, and he will certainly dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He has no doubt that this will be so. Jesus said the same:
“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3 ESV
Jesus is talking about the same house as David in the Psalm. Jesus never lied and never will, because He is the Word incarnate. If it were not true that there is a heaven, He would have said. If He had the slightest doubt as to the fate of the saved, He would not keep it silent, lest believers hope in vain. But Jesus says there is surely plenty of room in the house of the Lord. The kingdom of heaven is an existing kingdom, the New Jerusalem is an existing city, not a fiction. One hundred percent of the time, there is hope.
Paul also testifies to this:
„I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.” 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 ESV
The third heaven is probably the one where God dwells, and where Jesus Christ is now in a risen body at the right hand of the Father. This is where he went when he departed from this earth. This is where the apostle John got his insight in the book of Revelation. When a believer dies, he goes here immediately, 2 Cor 5:1-10, Acts 7:56-59, Luke 23:43 (you will be with me in paradise today) for the time being without a body. When Jesus comes back, we will be given a new body, and so we will be with Jesus forever. Finally heaven and earth will pass away and the Lord will create a new heaven and a new earth, where the New Jerusalem will descend from heaven. In this new creation we live forever. Thus, in three steps, the redemption of the world takes place.
Perfect place
Someone asked, "Won't it be boring to live forever? What will we do there? Singing with harps all day?" It won't be boring. First of all, boredom is an earthly concept. Have you ever in your life enjoyed something very much and didn't want to stop? (lovers on the phone, you hang up, not you, ..., when I was skiing, kids playing something exciting and parents coming to tell me I have to go home now, a good book or movie when it's over, you feel like you wish it would last, etc. who knows what) Life in heaven is like that, only much better. We'll enjoy it so much we'll never want to stop. And we don't have to.
And it is not true that we will only play the harp. We will praise God a lot, but we will also do other things. The Bible says we will serve God. We'll probably work (don't be scared, because that will be fun too), play, eat, drink, walk, travel, which means we'll live like we do here (because the two worlds are created by the same God, so He has His fingerprints on both), but without sin, pain, crying, suffering, and all the bad stuff. Imagine what that world would be like if evil didn't exist. That's what the New Creation will be like.
Company
In heaven, the perfect communion that is only partial here on earth in the churches will be realized. Heaven will be a perfect church. What people will be there! Imagine, you can talk to Elijah about what it was like when he defeated the 450 prophets of Baal. Or you could sit down with Abraham at the base of a tree and ask him details that the Bible doesn't give. Or you can even interview the apostle Paul about his missionary journeys. You may have to wait in line, but you have an eternity to wait to talk to him.
Then there will be your believing relatives, brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, even children, grandchildren, etc. You can meet believing friends who have gone before you. And everyone will love each other perfectly. There won't be a single bit of bickering or disagreement, just agreement and harmony. Alongside these will be the children who were never born in this world. This is a great encouragement to mothers who have lost a baby.
The Lord will be there in person
The greatest thing in heaven will not be a perfect creation, not a perfect society, but the presence of the Lord. Then you will see Him face to face, whom you love now but do not yet see. The apostle John says this in his letter:
„Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 ESV
Imagine looking into his gentle, loving eyes, touching the wounds on his hands and bowing down to him. You can ask Him anything, and He will answer everything.
Eternity
Sheep are always wandering. The shepherd guides them to go in the right direction, they keep going. Sometimes they stop to graze, but then they keep going. They don't settle in one place, just as long as there is grass. So it is with the believer. No matter how comfortable he is here on earth, he can't settle down for good, he's always wandering in this world, because he's not of this world anymore. He wanders until he finally settles down in the house of the Lord forever.
Finishing
Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you looking forward to that day, or are you dreading it? David was ready because he had walked with the Lord all his life. He had assurance of salvation. Do you? If you grow old with Jesus, you can say on the last day of your life what Paul said:
„I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:7-8 ESV
But if you grow old without Jesus, then there is nothing left for you but:
„but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Hebrews 10:27 ESV
Time passes, you can't stop it. I wish you to "grow old" with Jesus already here on earth, which you can continue later in eternity, then without the passing of time.