My kids and I often talk about heaven.
It started with my girls when they were toddlers. When little girls in princess costumes hear that there are streets of gold and lots of gems, well, heaven sounds pretty great.
Now that we are in the grade school phase, our discussions often happen on the way to school. Usually it comes about because of something silly, like wondering if they can have all the candy they want and not get sick.
Sometimes it starts because they are upset, wishing we could just be in heaven and not get hurt by imperfect relationships here on earth. My son is fascinated by thinking about sports in heaven. (Who wins in basketball if you have the perfect shot, the perfect block, the perfect rebound, the perfect pass?)
Then there is my favorite, when we discuss the rooms that Jesus is preparing for us and which people we hope will be our neighbors. (My daughter has already claimed the room in between her cherished piano teacher and my husband’s cousin.)
As I listened to a message by Pastor Jeske, it reminded me that as much as I love talking with the kids about heaven, because it is a real place, I also know we easily gloss over the best part.
In heaven we will be physically reunited with Jesus—the transfigured Jesus who Peter, James, and John got to see on earth while he talked with Moses and Elijah. The Jesus who is the Lord of the universe, sitting at the right hand of God and interceding for us.
By the way, adults often gloss over the best part too, like when the first thing we say after Grandpa dies is that he gets to see Grandma now. Yes he does, but first let’s talk about how he gets to be with Jesus.
So we’ll keep talking to the kids about heaven, but our conversations will start with celebrating that we get to be with Jesus, God’s Son. Because, ultimately, no matter what the other side benefits are, the best part of heaven is that each day we are with him in paradise.
