Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 8

THE FRONT PORCH
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” –Psalm 116:15

One trend in new home construction is the return of the large, protected front porch, like this on an eighty-year-old home in my community. For decades, builders installed small concrete slabs for porches, and people cocooned themselves behind their front doors. But big porches are once again bringing people outside to enjoy evening breezes and hear the birds, wind, and rain. They help connect neighbors and provide a play place for children. During storms, they offer protection as you dig for a key or wait for the homeowner to open the door.

Think about the comfort of such a porch as you consider your final moments on earth. Behind the door of death is Heaven. Some people fear coming here, as though a spiritual version of a vicious guard dog lays in wait to attack. There may be some legitimacy to that fear. When we are desperately ill, our faith may flag, leaving us vulnerable to the taunts of Satan. He may growl, “You don’t belong here,” or “Things aren’t what you think.” Ignore him. If you’re a child of God, Satan cannot harm you. He’s chained to the Cross, where he was defeated. He’ll snarl and fuss because he’s frustrated that he’s not welcome here. Don’t let him distract you from this holy moment.

Instead, focus on how God would welcome His precious child to His home. Think of the possibility that celestial helpers will help us up the porch stairs and to Heaven’s welcome mat. Members of the isolated Ecuadorian tribe who killed five American missionaries in 1956 remembered the shock of seeing “shining ones” in the jungle tree tops that fateful day. They told of that experience years later, after many in the tribe had become Christians. (1)

A four-year-old drowning survivor told his mother that while he wasn’t breathing underwater, an angel picked him up from the pool. Together they flew through walls and clouds to Heaven to see Jesus and the mother’s recently-deceased brother. He talked about a door with jewels around it. Because he was too young to know what the Bible teaches about Heaven, she believes it was a genuine experience. (2)

Vivian will never forget how angels comforted her dying grandmother, Rachel. During Vivian’s turn at her grandmother’s beside, the old woman had asked, “Read to me from the Bible.” Vivian began reading a random passage, realizing it seemed inappropriate for someone about to die. She stopped when it appeared her grandmother was asleep. But Rachel was aware, and insisted, “Keep on reading.” Vivian resumed reading, then stopped when it again appeared her grandmother was sleeping. “This time her eyes opened,” Vivian recalled. “She asked me if I saw ‘them’ too. I asked her who she meant, and she said, ‘The angels standing over there. See across the river? They’re saying I can’t come now, but tomorrow is the time.’”

Vivian was comforted by her grandmother’s vision, but the “tomorrow” part puzzled her. Later she went home to her family duties, fixing dinner and putting her children to bed. About midnight someone called to tell her that her grandmother had been taken to the hospital. When Rachel died at two the next morning, Vivian realized this was the “tomorrow” that angels told her grandmother.

Jesus suggested that angels escort us to Heaven when He taught about a rich, self-indulgent, unbelieving man and a poor, sick beggar. This beggar, who spent his days at the rich man’s gate, was covered with sores that the local mongrel dogs licked. He was so destitute that he ate any table scraps the rich man dropped his way. Finally, both died. The rich man was buried, but angels carried the beggar to heaven (Luke 16:22). The Bible also says myriads of angels have ministry on earth on our behalf: “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”(Heb. 1:14).

So how much will we know as we wait on the porch for Heaven’s door? According to many accounts of the dying, we’ll have a heightened sensitivity to the spiritual world. Nancy recalled how her stepfather Wallace lifted both his hands toward the ceiling and looked up, then took his last breath. Someday we’ll fully understand the hope of Psalm 116:15—that a believer’s death is precious to God. He cares. And we won’t be alone on that porch of transition, when we exhale our last breath on earth and step into the presence of God.

Prayer: Father, thank you that I won’t be alone as I near the door to Heaven. Amen.

(1) Today in the Word, Moody Bible Institute, devotional for Sept. 14, 2007.(2) Amy Buettner, “Mommy, I Saw Jesus,” Christian Reader (November/December 2002), p. 73.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 7

WINDOWS
“Now we see but a poor reflection; then we shall see face to face.” –1 Corinthians 13:12
A friend was moving to town, so I was on the lookout for a home where her family could live. I was excited to find one with a “for sale” sign close to mine. But I could only report the real estate agent’s phone number and the yard’s condition. Because the curtains and blinds were shut, I couldn’t peek through the windows to see inside it.

Talking about Heaven presents a similar frustration. There’s a thick curtain between our “earthliness” and Heavenly realities. At best, this spiritual barrier is like the frosted glass that’s often installed for privacy in some windows of earthly homes. If there’s any light on the “other side,” we see only fuzzy shapes and muted colors.

The apostle Paul faced a similar problem in describing Heaven’s perfection. In what we often call the Bible’s “Love Chapter,” First Corinthians 13, he tried to express what Heaven-worthy love looks like. He told how this God-shaped love lives out the virtues of patience, kindness, caring for others and looking for good. It turns away from envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, self-seeking, anger, or grudge-bearing.

Yet our best efforts at living out this “love” can’t match Heaven’s pure love. Ours is just a “poor reflection,” like the crudely polished brass mirrors of Paul’s time. Paul said he looked forward to the day when he would see Christ face to face and “know fully, even as I am fully known”(1 Cor. 13:12). That window between Heaven and earth also frustrated the apostle John. When God gave John a vision of Heaven, which John recorded in the book of Revelation, he couldn’t find adequate words for the mind-boggling sights. He used earth’s shapes, measures, and precious stones as somewhat like what he saw in Heaven.

Even today, people who claim to have visited the edge of Heaven (during a short time they clinically died) say it was unlike anything on earth. Usually their reports include rapturous music, reunion with loved ones, warmth and love. (1) A Texas pastor, “dead” for ninety minutes after a horrific auto accident, survived to tell of a Heaven that included iridescent light, incredible music, and indescribable joy. (2)

Stephen, the first Christian martyr in about 34 A.D., reported seeing Heaven’s throne room as enemies stoned him to death. In his last moments, he cried out, “I see Heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Bible teachers point out that Jesus stood for Stephen’s martyrdom, whereas elsewhere in the Bible Jesus is described as “seated” at the right hand of God the Father. The Lord honored Stephen.

The story continued with an angry Jewish leader in the mob, named Saul. He soon went on a rampage to arrest Christians. On Saul’s way to Damascus, some 200 miles north, Jesus appeared to Saul in a blinding light. The Christian-hater became a Christian, taking on the new name “Paul.” A few years later, Paul found himself in the same position as Stephen, being stoned for his faith while visiting in Lystra (in today’s Turkey). His enemies dragged him outside the city as if dead (Acts 14). It’s believed Paul then visited Heaven. But this experience was so precious that he dared not say it was his. Instead, he said it came to “a man in Christ.” Paul wrote: “I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to Paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell” (2 Cor. 12:2-5).

Paul honored the sacred “curtain” between earth and Heaven by referring to “inexpressible things that man is not permitted to tell.” What Paul heard and experienced in “the third heaven” (God’s dwelling place) was too sacred to re-tell on earth. In another church letter, Paul wrote that “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18).

For now, Heaven’s windows are covered. The eternal is unseen. But that won’t always be the case. Some day, God will take the covering off that window that obscures full understanding. We’ll see and experience Heaven in all its beauty and bliss. The light of His glory will make everything clear. What a day that will be!

Prayer: Lord, I trust Your wisdom in obscuring the details of Heaven for now, and for giving me the hope that someday I will see You face to face! Amen.

(1) Catherine Marshall, To Live Again (New York: McGraw Hill, 1957), p. 191.(2) Don Piper with Cecil Murphey, Ninety Minutes in Heaven (Grand Rapids, Mich: Revell, 2004), pp. 33, 194.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 6

FOUNDATION
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” –1 Corinthians 3:11
We hoped our older, small home would sell quickly. But the bank’s loan requirements for the buyers included passing a “pest inspection.” That took care of “quickly.” As the inspector inched out of the crawl space, he said with a scowl, “You have carpenter ants and other damage. You need to replace a lot of things in the foundation.” Although the house seemed sturdy, hungry bugs had weakened its underpinnings. The solution was messy and expensive. A builder dragged heavy jacks under the house to support it as he pried out bad timbers and replaced them with new ones.

Even in Bible times, people knew the importance of solid foundations. Jesus used that building principle to talk about what really mattered in life. He said building a home on a rock to withstand rain and wind was like those who built lives based on His teachings. When life’s difficulties came, they wouldn’t topple. Those who built on sand--meaning value systems based on shifting human opinions—would end up “with a great crash” (Matt. 7:27).

That passage had particular significance for Ralph. On a foundation of faith in Christ, Ralph built a life of service: city council member, missionary pilot, volunteer computer technician for his church, and all-around fix-it guy. Then one summer day, he and two others, en route by small plane to Alaska, disappeared over the ocean. Despite extensive searches, nothing was found and the three presumed dead. “Apparently, Ralph’s plane has gone down,” his pastor said at Ralph’s memorial service, “but make no mistake, Ralph has landed safely.”

Heaven.

As friends spoke at the service of his solid faith, many said, “He was such a rock.” Yet many others worry about what others will say after they die. I once worked for a newspaper where I was in charge of obituary notices. Usually, funeral homes brought in prepared notices. Sometimes, relatives came to report the death of someone with ties to the area. I thought this was the case the day a frail woman was directed to the chair by my desk. “When did this person pass away?” I began after getting a name. “Well, I haven’t died yet,” she said. “I just wanted you to get this right before I die.” Gently, I tried to explain that it would be better for her to supply this information to her choice of funeral home. As she left, I wondered about what was most important in her life. Did she want to be remembered for her memberships or many descendants? Was she concerned about relatives saying doubtful things about her after her death?

I’d seen some of those “editorialized” obituaries. Because the newspaper published only facts, families had to buy an ad for an “un-edited” version of an obituary. In one such paid notice, the family jested, “She was laid to rest alongside her husband, a patient man who got used to waiting for her early on.” I also read obituaries that conveyed strange ideas about Heaven. A hunting-fishing fanatic “went to his happy hunting grounds” to join his hunting buddy and dog. Another notice said their loved one was now happily pulling the slots in Heaven’s casino. (I asked myself how a destructive addiction could exist in Heaven.) Myra’s family-written obituary revealed a different hope. She lived to her 100th birthday, enjoying a big party in the nursing home where she lived. Afterwards, her obituary said, she took a nap and fell into a deep sleep. The next day, she opened her eyes wide and declared, ‘I believe in God!’” Then she slipped into a coma and died.

Another obituary recounted at length how Preston was a self-taught mechanical genius. More important, it said that two weeks before his death, “Preston received Christ as his Lord and Savior and was baptized along with his son. God had been patient, waiting all these years for the Spirit to move in Preston’s heart, time and again returning him from death’s door.”

We won’t have any veto power over what’s said at our funerals or emphasized in our obituaries. But our choices about a spiritual foundation will impact how people remember us. Even if years of bad choices have left you with a flimsy or riddled foundation, that can change. God can give you a new start: the foundation of faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s expensive beyond imagination—Jesus’ death on the cross. But God has already footed the bill for you. It will last forever, and it’s a sincere, life-changing prayer away.

If you’re not certain about your foundation, you are invited to make this prayer yours:
Lord, I’ve built my life on sand, on things that don’t count. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I claim Your promise to come into my life. I thank You for the gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Amen.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 5

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.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 4

THE ARCHITECT AND BUILDER
“He [Abraham] was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”—Hebrews 11:10
Scott and Nicki had invited friends to an unusual gathering: a “Foundation Blessing” party for their own future home that Scott would build. After years of living in rentals, they could hardly wait for it. But it wouldn’t be easy. A builder by trade, Scott would have to build others’ homes during the day to pay the bills. Then, despite his weariness, he’d work on his family’s new home at night and on weekends. That is why they wanted friends to pray for this exhausting task. They also wanted this house to become a place of blessing.

On “party night,” boards balanced on wooden construction horses held snacks. Scott and Nicki’s two older children read Bible passages about homes and building. Then, friends held hands in a big circle around the freshly-poured foundation and prayed for Scott and his family and the house to rise here. Over the next half year, they saw God remove financial obstacles and send volunteer help. Many nights, friends dropped in to lend a hand at just the time Scott needed his faith and energy shored up. When move-in day finally came, they knew such incidents were part of how God helped build this home.

God’s been in the business of “building” since before the beginning of time. The Bible says He’s the builder of everything (Hebrews 3:4). He laid the earth’s foundation (Job 38:4, Proverbs 8:29). All creation shouts His touch: “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1). Besides crafting spectacular beauty in the earth and sky and beyond, He works in the invisible places of human hearts. He can take rough raw materials like weak faith and stubborn doubt and reshape them into something glorious.

One such project involved a man named Abraham. He lived in bland obscurity in ancient Mesopotamia about 4,000 years ago. Then one day God spoke to his heart and told him to move far away, to a land where his descendants would prosper. Descendants? He had none. His wife was barren. Yet Abraham went to this land called Canaan, pitching his tents among foreigners and claiming God’s promise of “descendants.” Finally, two wrinkled parents, age 90 and 100, rocked their own miracle baby, named Isaac.

But the promise of “land” for his descendants seemed to elude him as he moved from place to place. Abraham even had to buy a cave to bury his wife. The Bible, however, notes that he had a vision of something greater: “the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10). Far off in still-to-be-experienced times, he saw the model city without crime, slums, pollution, threat of flood or fire. The perfect place, built by God.

The Bible gives a quick glimpse of such a place: the jewel-studded, golden-street celestial New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven as a dwelling place for eternity. Its size is staggering--1,500 miles on each of the four sides. Some think it’s a cube, others envision it as a pyramid. Its base, huge enough to stretch from Canada to Mexico, and from California to the Appalachian Mountains, would cover more than two million square miles. Allowing a generous 20 feet height for each floor, the city would be 396,000 floors high. Some have suggested that the city’s dimensions, if a cube, could comfortably accommodate more than eleven quadrillion residents.

The Bible also says the New Jerusalem comes down out of Heaven (Revelation 21). It’s not Heaven “now.” It’s a future delight, the perfect place we never had on earth. It’s God-built. “We have a building from God,” the apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, “an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands” (2 Cor. 5:1).

Scott’s family could hardly wait to move into their new home, even when the yard was a pile of rocks and the interior not quite finished. But there will be no loose ends or unfinished business at our new Heavenly home. With God as the architect and builder, nothing less than “absolutely ready and perfect” will do.

Are you sensing a pull toward that still-to-be-discovered Heavenly home? Does imagining what it’s like put a smile on your face? The Bible talks about that, too. Our longing to be “finally home,” in a perfect place, comes from God’s Spirit in our hearts, “a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Cor. 5:5). Someday, God and His work crew will touch your shoulder and say, “It’s ready--everything you’d hoped for. Go have some fun exploring your new home!”

Prayer: Great God, my heart overflows with awe for Your creative skill. I know You have planned truly wonderful things for Heaven. Amen.

Heaven: The Greatest Home Makeover--Day 3

BLUE PRINTS
"We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” –2 Corinthians 5:8
A home starts with papers called “blue prints,” so named for pre-computer copying methods. Full of measurements, they’re crucial for building a home where everything seen and unseen lines up and works. Blueprints also reveal the values of those having the home built, such as casual or formal entertaining. They may need large closets and a huge garage to store their possessions.

Curiously, many people would plan out Heaven as one grand, luxurious master bedroom suite. They think of Heaven in terms of final rest from the world’s sorrows and sicknesses. You hear that attitude in how people say, “She’s fallen asleep for eternity” or “He passed into eternal slumber.” But the Bible’s blueprints for Heaven don’t limit it to “eternal slumber.” This confusion probably came about because in Bible times, people used the word “sleep” as a euphemism for death.

One better-known example of this was the death of Lazarus, who lived with his sisters Mary and Martha. Jesus had often visited their home. When Lazarus grew deathly ill, the family sent for Jesus, hoping He’d come and heal His friend. But even from miles away, Jesus knew (though others didn’t) that Lazarus had already taken his last breath. “Lazarus is asleep,” He told His followers. They took it to mean that Lazarus was getting a long, healing nap. So Jesus had to clarify: “Lazarus is dead” (John 11:11-14). Soon Jesus would raise Lazarus back to life in a stunning display of His divine power. But years later, Lazarus died again.

The Bible also used “sleep” in describing the death by stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. The passage validated that “sleep” meant Stephen’s “death,” because godly men buried Stephen and mourned for him (Acts 7:59-60, 8:2).

But here’s where the Bible’s blueprints for Heaven tell of a wonderful plan after death. The Bible says that when believers die, their spirits leave earth for God’s presence. We don’t know quite how our spirits transition—but God does! The apostle Paul phrased it this memorable, comforting way--that in death we’ll be “away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Just before his own martyr’s death, he wrote he desired “to depart [to die] and be with Christ, which is better by far.”(Philippians 1:23. He looked forward to being forever with his Lord, who had turned a vicious Christian-hater into a vibrant Christ-proclaimer.

There’s more of Heaven’s blueprint than just “being with Christ.” God’s magnificent plan includes details for the most exciting event in all history. Jesus, who went to Heaven in a changed body after His death and resurrection, will come back to earth to summon us bodily to Heaven. The same Creator who assembled molecules for our living earthly bodies, and who knew when each died, will call forth those dead bodies to become changed, Heavenly bodies. That’s what the Bible means when it says the “corruptible” will put on “incorruption” (1 Corinthians 15:54). The old earthly bodies that disintegrate at death will come alive in a new way. This is true even of bodies lost to explosions or to the sea, no matter how scattered their original pieces. God knows where they are.

Some Old Testament believers also knew of this grand plan. Despite all his earthly suffering—losing his family, wealth, and health—Job declared that something wonderful would happen after the grave: “After my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God” (Job 19:27).

“Some day you will read in the papers that D.L. Moody, of East Northfield, is dead,” the great American evangelist preached one August Sunday in 1899. “Don’t you believe a word of it! At that moment I shall be more alive than I am now! I shall have gone up higher, that is all—out of this old clay tenement into a house that is immortal; a body death cannot touch, that sin cannot taint, a body fashioned like unto His glorious body.” A few months later, he left that “clay tenement” for his immortal “house.”

In thinking about Heaven, we naturally yearn to know exactly what it will be like. But God says, “Trust My blueprint. I’ve told you all you need to know for now.” Five stunning words—“at home with the Lord”—should be enough. Someday we’ll see the completed project and marvel how it was all there after all. We just couldn’t read the plans—yet.

Prayer: Enlarge my spiritual vision, God, for my wonderful eternal Home with You. Amen.

Heaven: the Greatest Home Makeover--Day 2

THE ROAD TO HOME
“He [God] has set eternity in the hearts of men.” –Ecclesiastes 4:11
When you return home from a trip, there’s usually one spot when your heart says, “I’m almost there.” Maybe it’s spotting your neighborhood from an airplane or across the water to a dock. By land, perhaps it’s a road sign naming your community, or the sign on your street corner.

For me, the relief of “almost home” heightens as the car crests the last hill above the valley of my hometown. At night, street lights glisten in an outline of the city’s triangular map. I know that within minutes I’ll pull into our driveway and see our rose garden.

What if you’re going “home” via a route you’ve never taken, to a “home” you’ve never occupied? That’s what we face in thinking about going to Heaven. But Jesus offers two key assurances. First, the road to heaven begins with how we live. It’s narrow and challenging, not the easy route many choose in life. Jesus said: “Broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it…narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).

More important, we have a Guide. Jesus will help us get there. When His disciples wondered about the logistics of being transported to Heaven, Jesus kept the explanation simple and comforting: “I will come back and take you to be with me” (John 14:3). It’s like Jesus is the driver and we’re the passengers!

This passage reminds me of traveling with our young children. Early in the trip home, one might whine from the back seat, “Are we home yet?” The other would add, “I miss home.” I’d reply, “Just close your eyes and we’ll get home a lot faster.” If we arrived home at night, they often were asleep as the car pulled into the garage. Their dad and I carefully unbuckled them from their car seats and eased their little wobbly bodies to our shoulders. Unlocking the house, we’d carry them to their rooms and lay them on their beds. We didn’t dare risk wakening them by putting on their pajamas. So we just slipped off their shoes, covered them, and went to bed ourselves. In the morning, they woke up “home.”

Could that be how Jesus will help us on the road to Heaven? Though we’ve never seen our Heavenly home before, we know He will take us safely there. Or, as some say, when we close our eyes on earth, we’ll open them in Heaven.

Every day around the globe, an estimated one-quarter of a million people die. They change their earthly residence. There are only two highways to eternity at death. One leads to the home of God and eternal pleasures, the other away from God to eternal misery. One’s the high road, the other the low road.

As a Christian, astronaut Michael Anderson chose the high road. Knowing the risky nature of space flight, he once told a former pastor that if something bad happened in his mission aboard the space shuttle Columbia, “Don’t worry about me. I’m just going on higher.” He and Rich Husband, the spacecraft’s commander, were members of the same church in Houston and known for their Christian witness. After sixteen days in space, just minutes before its scheduled landing in the early morning of February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart. All seven aboard died. But at least two crew members, who had publicly declared their faith in Christ, “went higher” with God and landed Home.

The road sign marking the way to Heaven is a cross. It’s why Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”(4) We can’t get to Heaven by our own efforts or by dabbling in religions that leave out Jesus’ death for our sins. We head there by believing in Christ.

Coming to Him in faith releases our longings for Heaven. We feel less at home on earth, and see ourselves more as people on the journey to eternity with God. Oswald Chambers, a classic devotional author, remarked: “Ultimately we realize a deep alienation to all that the world represents, and we recognize that we are ‘strangers and pilgrims on the earth.’”

God has set in our hearts that longing to spend eternity with Him. That’s why we sometimes experience heavenly homesickness. It’s also how God prepares us for that extraordinary welcome to Heaven. You won’t have to ask, “Am I here yet?” And you won’t be homesick any more.

Prayer: Jesus, You know the way to Heaven and I trust you as my Guide. Amen.