The Happiest Place on Earth

 

by Ryan Duncan, crosswalk.com

In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. – John 14:2

When I was in the fourth grade, my parents decided it was time for that rite of passage all families must one day undertake. On Friday morning, as my sisters and I prepared for school, they informed us that we would be leaving class an hour early today. Naturally, my sisters and I were excited to get a jump start on the weekend, but we also couldn’t help but wonder why.

“It’s a surprise,” was all my parents would say. That gave us pause. In my family, a “surprise” could mean anything from a baseball game, to getting our Hepatitis B shots at the doctor’s office. So it was with more than a little trepidation that we entered our family van that afternoon and began speeding toward the city. After about forty minutes of driving, my Dad pulled off the road into a crowded parking lot.

“Where do you think we’re going?” he asked with a huge grin on his face. We looked around at the city, the solid concrete parking lot, and the planes soaring overhead.

“Camping?” guessed one of my sisters. My mother reached into her pocket and produced several tickets that all bore the unmistakable image of Mickey Mouse. That’s when it hit us, WE WERE GOING TO DISNEYWORLD! Normally I avoid talking about Heaven, I feel like it distracts Christians from living in the here and now, but I can’t help seeing a glimpse of our final home in that old vacation. There was so much awe, wonder, and sheer joy at just being a child in Disneyworld.

Best of all, we had no idea what was waiting for us. We all knew of Disneyworld, but we had never experienced anything like it until that trip. In much the same way, Jesus has prepared a place for us in a world we cannot begin to comprehend. Just look at this verse from Revelation,

 “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. The angel said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.’” – Revelation 22:3-7

I’m going to restrain myself from using a “Whole New World” joke. Rather, I’ll simply close with this message: This world is not our home. God made us to be a part of this world, but it is not where we truly belong. One day we will go home, and when that day comes, it will be quite the adventure.