A large percentage of the people of the world wake up every morning with some kind of ache or pain. If you are one of the many victims, with some infirmity of the flesh, perhaps you will agree with the little chorus which says: “Heaven is better than this.”

The Scriptures tell us that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:22). Note the expression: “the whole creation.” This takes in the whole world; no one is excluded. Indeed, the very next verse goes on to say to Christian believers:

“And not only they, but ourselves also… even we ourselves groan within ourselves… waiting for… the redemption of our body.”

No doubt many of us feel like crying out with the Psalmist David, “Look upon mine affliction and my pain” (Psa. 25:18). In spite of all sorrow, trouble and pain which the child of God must endure, however, he can be assured with the Apostle Paul that: “our light affliction, which is but for a moment [comparatively], worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (II Cor. 4:17). When we go to be with the Lord we will no longer be living in “this earthly tabernacle,” but will have “a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (II Cor. 5:1). Paul even adds that as Christians we earnestly desire “to be clothed upon with our house [our new body] which is from heaven” (II Cor. 5:2).

Finally, St. Paul declared that “to depart, and to be with Christ… is far better” (Phil. 1:23); far better, not only than all earth’s sorrow and trouble and pain, but far better even than earth’s greatest joys and its dearest treasures. How wonderful it is to know that “Christ died for our sins,” to have a light beyond the grave, a hope beyond the tomb! Surely “heaven is better than this!”

 

To the Reader:

Some of our Two Minutes articles were written many years ago by Pastor C. R. Stam for publication in newspapers. When many of these articles were later compiled in book form, Pastor Stam wrote this word of explanation in the Preface:

“It should be borne in mind that the newspaper column, Two Minutes With the Bible, has now been published for many years, so that local, national and international events are discussed as if they occurred only recently. Rather than rewrite or date such articles, we have left them just as they were when first published. This, we felt, would add to the interest, especially since our readers understand that they first appeared as newspaper articles.”

To this we would add that the same is true for the articles written by others that we continue to add, on a regular basis, to the Two Minutes library. We hope that you’ll agree that while some of the references in these articles are dated, the spiritual truths taught therein are timeless.