The Best is Yet to Come

Marci’s uncle Larry shed his earth suit this year. We were able to visit him a few weeks before his departure and he was so full of joy. He knew heaven awaited him because Jesus had conquered the grave. Death was simply the door between two worlds. Just before he died he told his wife to give a message to his older brother, Don. “I beat you there!”

We don’t like thinking about death, but scripture says, “A wise person thinks a lot about death, while a fool thinks only about having a good time.” Ecclesiastes 7:4

We need to be thinking and talking a lot more about heaven! When Marci and I were preparing for our first vacation to Europe, we took time to learn about the place. We often talked about the things we would see, and counted the days until our departure. How much more excited should we be about seeing heaven?

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Death is not the end for those who know Christ. It’s just the beginning. At the end of his book, The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis reminds us that when our adventures on earth end, we will have lived just the cover and title page of our life’s story. Heaven will be the beginning of “Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.”

Uncle Larry, though sad to leave his loved ones, knew that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” He knew, because of Jesus … the best is yet to come!