by Tim Hall

Tom really loved that car. Though it was really showing its age, he still dreaded the thought of giving it up. In that car he had proposed to his wife. It had carried each of his three children home from the hospital after their births. He had even given it a name! No, it wasn't a question of affordability. He just hated having to give up a vehicle that had served him well, and in which so many memories had been forged.

The attachment was soon broken, however, once Tom drove his new car. Automotive technology had come so far in those twelve years! Though he still had fond memories of the old sedan, he never regretted the decision to trade up.

How like Tom we are when it comes to this life! Most of us grow rather fond of this world. The terrain is pleasant, certain seasons are downright wonderful. Friendships sink roots into our hearts, and it is with great pain that they must be ripped up by relocation or death. As we grow older, we become wistful, sometimes angry. "Why can't it continue the way I remember it? Why do we have to let go of things we have so thoroughly enjoyed?"

Faith reminds us that God has promised something much more wonderful than life on this earth. Jesus stated it clearly in John 14:1-3: "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" (New King James Version).

A place prepared for us by Jesus Christ? What an unimaginably splendid place that must be! We visit some beautiful sites on this planet -- gardens lush and colorful, islands fanned by warm winds, mountain summits with breathtaking views. But how these vistas will pale in comparison with the place that Jesus Himself has prepared for us!

Paul was not speaking of heaven in 1 Corinthians 2:9, but the idea is absolutely applicable: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." There's just no way we can imagine how utterly marvelous heaven will be. No matter how much we enjoy and cling to life on earth, it will be quickly forgotten the moment we step onto Heaven's shore.

Will the streets really be paved with gold? What will the average temperature be up there? What kinds of activities will we be given? To these questions, I have no definite answers. But there's one thing I know -- and it's all I need to know -- Heaven is a place prepared by Jesus. If divine preparations have gone into this abode, I want to be there! And the process of gradually letting go of an earthly life I have loved (i.e. aging) is not nearly so disturbing when I trust the Lord's promises.