WELCOME SIGN
“You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise.”—Isaiah 60:18
Imagine a chain link fence topped by curling barbed wire, a dilapidated shack in the distance. Affixed to the fence are these signs: “No trespassing!” “No solicitors!” “Warning: Dangerous Dog.” “Keep out—this means you!” You wouldn’t want to go much further!
Now imagine coming to another gate between sections of a fence built of crisscrossed split logs. Horses graze in dew-glistened pastures. On either side of the gate, two tall logs hold up a cross beam where horseshoes spell out the ranch’s name. Maybe it’s “Happy Valley” or R&R Ranch (for rest and relaxation). This is your destination, so you quickly pull open the gate and enter.
Maybe, instead of visiting, you own the property. Let’s say you transformed a splendid old mansion into a bed-and-breakfast. From the curving entrance stairway to the claw-footed tubs, everything spells old-world elegance. Weeping willows sway in the front yard. Behind a white picket fence you’ve nurtured an English garden, now fragrant with lavender and roses. What would you put on its welcome sign? Surely something more elegant than “Jones Motel”!
Or what might you call your own home? Cindy’s family named homes where they lived. They moved to a home in the Blue Ridge Mountains, full of high hopes for a long and happy future, and named it “High Hopes.” Later, after a time of personal turmoil, they moved to New England. That home, a place of healing, became “Gracehaven.”
In Bible times, people named their hometowns for special qualities. “Bethany” meant “house of unripe figs”; “Bethesda,” “house of grace”; and “Bethlehem,” “house of bread.” When Jacob had a vision of a stairwell going to Heaven, he declared, “This is the gate of Heaven.” He named the place “Beth-el”—“house of God.”
If you could give Heaven another name, what would it be? Where would your imagination take you? Would you think of a valley with velvet grasses, a clear brook laughing through it and sheep grazing—for “Peaceful Pastures”? Or would your idea veer toward a log cabin clutching the edge of a sapphire lake, fish kissing rings into its mirrored surface—for “Serenity”? Maybe you’d think of an immaculate English manor house, home to royalty. Reflection pools and perfect gardens welcome guests who enter the golden gates. They arrive wearing their finest regalia and gowns for a sumptuous banquet. The king ordered this party so he could mingle with his subjects. Though they should honor him, he is honoring them and celebrating their relationship! Would this image of Heaven be named “Royal Welcome”?
Maybe you see Heaven as Jerusalem, the Holy City from of old, given an “extreme makeover.” The Old Testament prophet Isaiah did. He envisioned a brand-new Jerusalem, no longer tainted by terror, wars, and death. It will be a place of peace (Isaiah 33:20), singing, gladness and joy (Isaiah 35:10). Its walls—the boundaries and protection—will be called “salvation” (Isaiah 60:18). In other words, a relationship with God will provide safety. Its gates will be called “praise.” People would enter with joyful worship. It will finally live up to the meaning of its name: “Possession of Peace.”
But what of the true Heaven, when we enter the presence of the King of the Universe? Maybe the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel offered the best name. Looking ahead to a day when his descendants would know peace with Jesus Christ as king, he declared, “And the name of the city from that time on will be ‘The LORD is there’” (Ezekiel 48:35). Imagine a welcome sign bearing those words. The Lord is there. In Hebrew, it’s Jehovah Shammah. If the Lord is there, that means we’ll never be separated from Him.
He has also promised to be with us even before we reach Heaven. Before His own return to Heaven, Jesus said, “Surely, I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20). In His physical absence from earth, He promises to be with us through the Holy Spirit.
Maybe on this journey to death that you or a loved one is making, you feel like you’ve come to the wretched cabin with negative signs. You understand why the author Dante, in his work The Inferno, imagined the inscription over hell’s entrance as saying “Abandon all hope, you who enter.” Fear fills your heart. You despair of finding the rest and refreshment you so desperately need. Turn away. That miserable shack is Satan’s hangout of hopelessness. Heaven is a place of hope. Its welcome sign bears two life-giving greetings: “Salvation” and “Praise.” Take courage. Just ahead, The Lord is there.
Prayer: Thank you, God, for comforting me with these reminders of Your love. I look forward to the place where “The Lord is there.” Amen.
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