A searchable, downloadable PDF of the original article appears below. Esther Mcllveen is a free-lance writer living in Richmond, B.C.
In an article in Christianity Today, Philip Yancey mentions the importance of reflecting upon the reality of heaven. My sister who was grieving after the death of her daughter wondered why it is we know so little about such an important place. Glen Clark, the founder of CFO Camps felt that a loved one’s passing over brought or gave new strength, new power, new life and new vitality to the one remaining. Milton posed the question in Paradise Lost:
What if Earth be but the shadow of Heaven and things therein — each to other like, more than on Earth is thought?
George MacDonald’s question is the question of us all:
Traveller, what lies over the hill?
Traveller, tell to me;
I am only a child — from the window sill,
Over I cannot see.
A few summers ago in a creative writing workshop a group of us experienced the electrifying results that can happen when the reality of heaven comes alive.
I began the workshop by helping reflect on the verse:
I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2
We kept before us the nature and character of the One who was making the preparations.
I thought back to a few years ago when we as a family had to move. During this particular move our eldest daughter was away at camp. She dislikes moves, so I determined to decorate her new room just the way I felt she would want it. When she returned, she was delighted … her favourite lavender porcelain lamp on top of a pine teapoy, fat coloured cushions on her ivory comforter, her posters in place, her sewing machine on top of a refinished desk, her pictures and cards displayed on a peg board, her globe, favourite books and magazines lining one wall and her piece of cut-glass crystal on the sill. In addition some birds had built a nest in the ivy that curled outside her bedroom window. I knew her so intimately that I could beautify her room accordingly to her taste and enjoyment.
Since the workshop was held in a camp setting we were also conscious of the prolific gifts in nature — towering douglas fir stood like sentinels throughout the grounds … birds, butterflies and squirrels played around a variety of green foliage . . . pansies, phlox, peonies, snapdragons and tiny alpine flowers were strewn along the walks.
Everywhere there was a carpet of pine cones and lush green moss — evidences of an extravagant creator were all around us. If he did not spare his own Son for us, then we conclude that he certainly wouldn’t spare decorating costs!
We brainstormed about the kinds of places we would like Jesus to prepare for us . . . one man who had contemplated suicide because he felt he had wasted his life wanted a huge kitchen where he could experiment with all kinds of food. A young girl wanted a house with circular rooms and lots of secret passages and a library where she could have a private reading with the children’s author, George MacDonald.
An older lady wanted a huge meadow where she could have lots of animals. Another wanted an uncluttered home with large pillars where the wind could blow through and a mountain outside her window. Someone wanted a rainbow painted across her sky and a waterfall with a few swan gliding past.
An Indian longed for a log cabin with a canoe and a fireplace with lots of wood. Many desired to play instruments, dance ballet and write books — things they hadn’t been able to accomplish yet on earth.
After we had shared the kinds of places we would be most comfortable in, we decided to throw a huge party inviting any guests — living or dead. The list was varied and exciting — Mother Teresa, the pope, grandma, Deborah from the Old Testament, C.S. Lewis and Mick Jagger. Some included people who had been their enemies.
The workshop ended. We all knew that God would do far more than our minds could possibly imagine or comprehend, but for each of us heaven had become a unique place and a greater reality.