Would you be happy in heaven if Jesus were not there?

Imagine heaven. No pain. No sickness. No sorrow. No death. No sin. Glorious beauty. Eternal life. Reunion with loved ones.

What if you could have all of that, without Jesus being there? Would you still want to go?

I encourage you think hard about your answer to this question. If your answer is 'yes' and you believe yourself to be a Christian, may I gently challenge that you may be missing the whole point of Christianity.

This question cuts with laser precision to the heart of what the Bible teaches about heaven, about salvation, about God. It is the question that John Piper asks in his excellent book God is the Gospel, which I'll talk more about tomorrow.

Until then, I pray that this question provokes you--both Christian and non-Christian alike.