Heaven and Main

Yesterday afternoon I found myself at the intersection of two roads:  Heaven and Main.  I was privileged to be in the presence of the Lord at the funeral and memorial service of the 31 year-old son of a good friend from church.  Although a sudden, virulent sickness stopped his heart and stole his breath at such an early place in life, he had invested deeply in living a full, energetic and creative life and he had lived with passion.  Something like 10 family members stood up, one at a time, in front of the congregation to testify to the young man's love for them, love for the Lord and the Lord's creation, and love of life.  I realized that when a Believer dies we find ourselves at the intersection of Heaven and Main streets.  Most of the time and most of our days we are immersed and wrapped up in the concerns and affairs of this earthly life.  But when a loved one dies our thoughts are suddenly riveted on the vertical dimension, leading Heaven-ward, for we will never interact again on this earthly plane with that individual.  We are left with two things to hold onto: cherished memories and the hope of heaven.  We look back at the life we shared with the family member or friend and, as the father of the young man shared yesterday, we "play the tape" of memories that have engraved our love deeply in our hearts.  And then we remember that the one who is no longer here has moved on to the place our Savior promised if we have placed our trust in Him.  It's harder for us to picture Heaven than to frame memories in our minds but we have the sure words of Jesus which were shared yesterday from John, chapter 14:1-3 "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

When we are at the intersection of Heaven and Main we are reminded that we are actually on both roads while we are here...something like that stretch of highway in the Shenandoah valley where Interstates 64 and 81 are the same road for a stretch...and then, before we know it, we'll reach the exit ramp and leave Main to merge onto Heaven's expressway to reach the home being fashioned for us by our Savior.  I hope that your Main Street of living has found the intersection with Heaven's highway.  You'll find it at the crossroad where Jesus is calling your name.

 

blessings (and gratitude for the zest for life that Joshua radiated),

Rob Smith