When someone you love dies, if you believe in life after death you start thinking a LOT more about heaven, and reading everything you can about it. If you’re me, anyway. I recently read both Heaven by Randy Alcorn and All Things New by John Eldridge. I think they both do a bit of speculating (e.g. pets in heaven), but it is amazing to see all the things the Bible tells us about the afterlife that we (I) have just skimmed over in the past. Sorry to disappoint, but I’m not going to outline them here. You’ll have to do your own research!
The main thing I’ve come away with, though, is an excitement and enthusiasm about heaven. Even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals that the whole “playing a harp on a cloud” idea is a ridiculous myth. Although if you love playing the harp I’m sure you will be able to continue that, and in fact I will listen to your music with much pleasure!
Even with what has been revealed in Scripture, there is still so much we don’t know. Sometimes when I think about Joe as he is now, I feel like I’m trying to see through thick fog. I know that he is happy and healthy, but what else?
I so wish I could text and ask him, “so, what’s going on up there?” “Did you meet Grandma Jean yet? How about Jack (C.S.) Lewis?” “What is it like being in the literal presence of Jesus? Oh my gosh!”
Or just do a google search: “what is Joe doing?”
A couple of weeks before Joe died, when we knew he didn’t have much longer, I was sitting on the edge of his bed and we were talking about heaven. At one point I stopped and just looked at him with tears filling my eyes, and said, “you lucky dog.” I realize that may offend some of my readers, but Joe knew exactly what I meant as he broke into a smile and nodded. I think he agreed with me.
