As John Owen continues laying the foundation in his Meditations and Discourses on the Glory of Christ, he highlights that this exercise–seeing Christ’s glory by faith in this life–makes us fit for heaven:
“Music has no pleasure in it unto them that cannot hear; nor the most beautiful colours, unto them that cannot see. It would be no benefit unto a fish, to take him from the bottom of the ocean, filled with cold and darkness, and to place him under the beams of the sun; for he is no way meet to receive any refreshment thereby. Heaven itself would not be more advantageous unto persons not renewed by the Spirit of grace in this life.” (Page 21)
Unless, through grace, we are continually seeing Jesus’ glory, “heaven itself would not be more advantageous” because that’s the essence of heaven and the new earth. If the beholding of Jesus’ glory does not bring comfort and delight to the soul, heaven would not be an appealing place–it would not be a good fit.
Jan Blonk
Author of “An Unfathomable Gift!“