I heard a joke the other day that made me laugh, but also made me think. It was about a rich man who knew he was dying and wanted to take something with him to heaven. He was told time and again that it not possible, but he was persistent and finally got an exemption for one suitcase. He died and showed up at the pearly gates with his suitcase. St. Peter stopped him and told him he couldn’t enter with anything. He explained about the special exemption and St. Peter went to check it out. He came back and said, “Okay, but I’ll have to inspect the contents.” The suitcase was opened and it was filled with gold bars. St. Peter scratched his head and asked him, “Why would you want to bring paving stones to heaven?”
I’ve always known that we can’t take our physical possessions with us to heaven no matter how valuable they may seem on Earth. I have never seen a trailer hitch on the back of a hearse – have you? Now I fully understand why. Nothing here even begins to compare with what awaits us up there. My home will be fully furnished and prepared for me. I will be too busy praising my Savior and reuniting with those I have missed for so long on Earth to even think about the possessions I left behind.
There are a few things we can take with us to heaven. They are things that will even be multiplied as we enter God’s kingdom. The first one that comes to mind is love.
We can bring with us the love that God has placed in our heart for Him; for our family; for our neighbors; an even for our enemies. Our love will become so rich and pure beyond anything we can even imagine down here.
Another thing we can take with us to heaven is gratitude. The gratitude I feel here for all of the things God does for me every day directly and through the actions of others will be nothing compared to the gratitude I will feel as I continue the eternal life that was begun when I was only eleven years old on Earth. Eternal life means that my gratitude for God’s mercy and grace will never end.
We will enter heaven with a spirit of praise and worship, but that too will be multiplied beyond our wildest dreams. We feel God’s presence here through the Holy Spirit when we praise and worship God. There, we will be in His full presence as we sing and praise Him. Talk about a beautiful, humbling experience; that will be perfect.
So maybe we can take it with us; as long as our definition of it is in line with His.