We’re born alone. We die alone. And in between, we spend our lives looking for something: connection. That’s all we want. Every once in a while, we might find it in a true friend. Many friendships will come only to fade as quickly as a firework, but some, a rare and precious few, turn life up to 11 and keep it there. You have to hold on to friends like these because, just like air, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.–Attributed to Actor Christopher Walken

I’ve struggled how to construct this week’s post for many weeks. I know what needs to be shared, but have little idea how best to do it. My ‘recycle bin’ is full of rejected attempts and, be assured, the following sentences will barely reach below the surface of my heart.

Some years ago I taught on the topic of heaven (series entitled ‘Heaven is for Dead People’). I was compelled to do so partly out of my own passion for experiencing heaven’s reality and partly out of frustration that so few people I knew desired or thought of heaven at all. Heaven rarely came up as a topic of conversation other than at funeral events. Over and over again I witnessed, “Oh well, they’re dead; they must have gone on to a better place.”

Like much of pop culture philosophy, Walken’s quote (shared in a German television commercial), is a mixture of lies and partial truths. I will not parse which is which as I do appreciate the intelligence of those who will read this post. I will, however, beg for consideration of these truths posited below:

• Our life is God-breathed. It has always been God-breathed. Our every breath is an expression of grace. There is never ‘alone’ in our existence on this earth, never life on it’s own.*
• Our life-gift was created to be eternal. Our experience of life is limited due to sin’s terminal effect.**
• Sin’s penalty is paid and death’s power removed through the Cross of Jesus Christ and his resurrection from the dead.***
• God re-breathes life, abundant and eternal, into those who ‘deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus.’****
• Heaven is the fulfillment of the promise of eternal life and the restoration of all that God made good without any presence of what is wrong. It is the union of relationships with God and others without any barrier. Our languages have no adequate adjectives to convey the bliss and joy of such an existence.*****

By the time I write again, a decision will be made to continue or to end medical treatment for Michelle’s cancer. Regardless of that choice, our position is unchanged; we wait for a lesser miracle but remain confident of receiving the greater miracle.

We all observe each other die whether we like it or not. Every moment of every day is one moment, one day closer to the reality of life’s breath being exhausted. When the charade that death is not happening is removed, as in Michelle’s and my current circumstance, it is excruciating. It is the agony of helplessly standing beside, unable to repair, unable to, in many instances, even to give a little relief. This is not the time to believe in fairy tales. No self-delusion can serve as an emotional ‘binky’ to soothe the ache within.

The longing for the reality of the best place being near intensifies.

Heaven, the deepest desire.

I received positive feedback when I shared JJ Heller’s song and I thought it may be worth adding a couple of my long-time favorites. If you listen carefully, both artists do well articulating truth.

*“Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” (Genesis 2:7, NASB95)

“In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind?” (Job 12:10, NASB95)

**“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NASB95)

***““For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.” (John 3:16–19, NLT)

****“And He (Jesus) summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” And Jesus was saying to them, “Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.”” (Mark 8:34–9:1, NASB95)

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9, NLT)

*****“I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.” (Revelation 21:3–7, NLT)