But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)
The day the goldfish died
One day the goldfish died. Part of the family went into bereavement. We held the solemn funeral in the backyard and laid the smitten creature in the earth for its final repose. Paul was about nine years old at the time. He was experiencing deep grief. The goldfish had lived in his bedroom. Now it was dead. Paul was crying profusely. No consolations or diversions seem to bring relief.
I had to run an errand, so I invited him to ride along. We might be able to talk in the car. Concentrating on traffic, I had to delay our intense father-son interchange for about a mile. When I finally turned to look him in the eye, he was all smiles.
“Ya know, Dad,” he began the conversation, “I don’t know why I’m crying. Why I bet that goldfish is very happy right now. In heaven above it’s probably swimming in the biggest goldfish bowl God’s got!”
There was nothing I could add to that.
Heaven as fulfillment
Martin Luther admitted that heaven is a mystery. It must be a mystery because it transcends what we have come to accept as commonplace here on earth. What is heaven above? Luther said: think of the most fulfilling thing possible. Heaven is better than that. Perhaps that is what my son Paul was doing that day.
Heaven as reversal
There is another feature of heaven above which makes it elusive. It involves some kind of a reversal. Jesus said that the first will be last, and the last first (Matthew 19:30). In other words, there will be some surprises upon arrival in heaven.
This reminds me of a poem I once read. I cut it out and tossed it into a book for safe keeping. No author’s name was attached to it, and I’ve forgotten the magazine in which I found it. But it makes this point about reversal well.
I dreamed death came the other night,
And Heaven’s Gate swung wide.
With kindly grace an angel
Ushered me inside.
And to my astonishment
Stood folks I’d known on earth.
Some I’d judged and labeled
As unfit or of little worth.
Indignant words rose to my lips
But never were set free
For on every face showed stunned surprise.
No One Expected Me.
PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, who sent the Son of Man for our salvation, prepare us for heaven above. Amen.
▓
Ted Peters is a Lutheran pastor and emeritus seminary professor. He is author of Short Prayers and The Cosmic Self. His one volume systematic theology is now in its 3rd edition, God—The World’s Future (Fortress 2015). He has undertaken a thorough examination of the sin-and-grace dialectic in two works, Sin: Radical Evil in Soul and Society (Eerdmans 1994) and Sin Boldly! (Fortress 2015). Watch for his forthcoming, The Voice of Public Christian Theology (ATF 2022). See his website: TedsTimelyTake.com.
▓
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In