What's Heaven Like?

Posted on June 4, 2012 08:13 am CDT

I heard a story once of a dad tried to explain heaven to his son one evening. This family lived in Montana where the wide open spaces and big sky was common. This family lived on a farm with hundreds of acres and fields that stretched for miles. The little boy that lived in the family was getting older but yet still like to play with his matchbox cars. Because he was a little embarrassed due to his age he would often hide away and play with them in a secret location. The secret location was under the house. No one would find them under the floorboards of the house. But this young man had built roads and hills, makeshift houses and garages all for his matchbox cars. He would hear people walking around on the floorboards inside the house yet they would never know that he was right underneath playing with his “toys”.

One evening sitting at dinner, the young man turned to his father and asked “What’s heaven like?”

His father thought about it for a moment and said, “well son, you know underneath the house where you play with your cars?”

The boy nearly dropped his fork. He had no idea that anyone knew about this secret fascination of his. He cracked a slight, embarrassed smile and nodded his head.

His dad said, “well tonight after dinner I want you to go down where you play with your cars underneath the floorboards of the house and this time look up at the underneath side of the floorboards. Then I want you to meet me outside in the pasture.”

The boy had no idea what his father was getting at. But since he didn't get the answer he wanted at dinner he thought he might as well go along with it. So, after dinner, the boy crawled underneath the house where he had so many times before to where his quiet and private city sat and looked up. He was shocked to find rusty nails sticking through the floorboards, (he can't imagine how he didn't poke his head), dozens of cobwebs clinging altogether with large spiders and nests in the corners, dirt and splinters that have been wedged between the cracks in the floorboards, and shredded insulation mixed with glue and tar. For that brief moment he thought he may never come under the house again - why bother now that the secret was out. He quickly gathered up his cars and crawled back from under the disgusting floorboards secretly vowing never to go under there again.

After tucking away his toys he wandered out to the pasture to find his father standing in the middle of the field. It was a clear night and due to atmospheric conditions the aurora borealis was dancing across the night sky. Although rare, this phenomenon is not uncommon in northern Montana, but tonight was even more special with brilliant greens and blue colors licking the moon and dancing across the big Montana sky. Stars twinkled, the moon shone brilliantly, and paired with the colors, this was perhaps one of the most beautiful night skies he had ever seen.

The boy's father said, “Son, while I don't know exactly what heaven is like, I know that it's up there, and that it is more beautiful than we can ever imagine. But do you see how beautiful the night sky is tonight? Think of it this way; this gorgeous, beautiful, brilliant and colorful sky is the floorboards of heaven. What you saw under the house was grimy, dirty, and disgusting yet compared to heaven that's what the sky looks like. Heaven is more beautiful, more brilliant and more unimaginably spectacular than we will ever know. “

As a little boy and his father stood there looking up at the gorgeous floorboards of heaven, the boy had just a little better idea of what heaven is like.