Devotionals by Dr. M. Craig Barnes
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades. --
According to Time magazine, 81 percent of Americans believe in heaven. It also stated that only 63
percent of us believe in hell, which is rather convenient. The authors of the article were
surprised that with such an overwhelming majority of us believing in heaven that we don't talk
more about it.
I believe the reason we don't talk about heaven much is that we have become too comfortable on
earth. Could heaven really be better? Even if we don't have everything we want, we do have the
illusion that we can get it. But previous generations who had neither our materialism nor our
illusions talked about heaven all the time. That's because they remembered what we keep forgetting.
This life is short and we are going to be dead for a long time. So wouldn't it be good to know
there is something on the other side?
In his book, Teaching Your Children about God, Rabbi David Wolpe tells an old Jewish parable
about twins waiting to be born in the womb. One believes there is a world beyond the womb, "where
people walk upright, where there are mountains and oceans, a sky filled with stars. The other can
barely contain his contempt for such foolish ideas." Eventually the "believer" is forced through
the birth canal. His twin who is left behind is so sad, convinced that something awful has happened
to his brother. But just beyond the womb, parents are rejoicing. Because what the remaining twin
witnessed was not death but life.
-- Craig Barnes