The Other Side

The Other Side

Cecil May, Jr. recently wrote about a conversation that his son, Cecil III,
had with his mother when he was a child:

"Cecil 3, now a preacher with his own grandchildren, when he was still
pre-school, before seatbelts and car seats, he was lying in the back of the
car, looking up through the back windshield at the sky, blue with cumulus
clouds. He asked his mom who was driving, 'When I die, will I go to
heaven?'

She answered, 'Well, Cecil, I certainly expect you to.'

Cecil said, 'The underside of heaven is so pretty; the other side, where God
is, must be really beautiful. I think I will lie down in the street in the
front of our house so I can get run over and go to heaven!'

His mother watched him especially closely for several weeks after that
conversation." *

Unbelievers scoff at the doctrine of heaven saying it is a vain hope for
some "pie in the sky." Dictionary.com says that the idiomatic phrase, "pie
in the sky," refers to "an empty wish or promise, as in His dream of being
hired as a sports editor proved to be pie in the sky. This expression was
first recorded in 1911 in a rallying song of a union, the International
Workers of the World (or "Wobblies"): 'Work and pray, live on hay, you'll
get pie in the sky when you die.'"

But believers do not view heaven as some wishful "pie in the sky" but as
something to actually look forward to "in the sweet by and by" (in the words
of the hymn by Sanford Fillmore Bennett).

Upon what basis is the hope for heaven founded? God promised it. There are
many evidences that the Word of God, the Bible, is divine in origin.
Considering those evidences, many have come to accept that "All Scripture is
given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16).
Believers conclude: the Bible is from God and it can be trusted. God can be
trusted.

God's Son said to His troubled disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled;
you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many
mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And 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" (John
14:1-3).

God promised heaven to those who will accept His offer of salvation and
eternal life. And our hearts yearn for heaven. We look at the trials of
this life and say, "There must be something better than this." God says,
"There is. It is a place where I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.
There shall be no death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more
pain" (Revelation 21:4). That, my friends, gives us hope for tomorrow and
strength for today.

God gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins so that, one day, we
can go to heaven (John 3:16).

God will save from sin and give eternal life in heaven to those who place
their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in
repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and
are baptized (immersed) into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).
He will continue to cleanse from sin and make ready for heaven those who
continue to walk in the light of His Word (1 John 1:7-9).

No, don't lie in the middle of the street so you can get run over to try to
get there more quickly. But do consider "how beautiful heaven must be" and
the price that God paid to make it possible for us. Live your life in view
of heaven, by trusting and obeying Jesus.

God says there is something for which to look forward. I believe God.
Won't you?

-- David A. Sargent

* from "Beautiful Heaven" by Cecil May, Jr. in Preacher Talk (Vol. 36, No.
1; Winter, 2020), a publication produced by Faulkner University in
Montgomery, AL

David A. Sargent, Minister