A Travel Guide to Heaven- 10th Anniversary Edition
“A Travel Guide to Heaven…bubbles joyously about an incredible Technicolor afterlife that makes the journey over the rainbow to Oz pale in comparison.” –New York Times
Down through the centuries, there have been thousands of books written about the subject of heaven. Some have been great theological tomes, some brilliant essays, other beautiful poems. Religious and secular writers from all walks of life have attempted to describe and explain this most elusive of concepts. And yet, while all of these efforts have added to our understanding of heaven, most of them have been missing one key ingredient: FUN.
If heaven is anything at all, it’s fun. It’s a place of unlimited pleasure, unlimited happiness, and unlimited joy. It’s Disney World, Hawaii, Paris, Rome and New York all rolled up into one. And it’s forever.
If your picture of heaven could use a little fine-tuning, then this remarkable book is just the ticket. Fueled by the author’s profound faith, his bold vision, and his irresistible sense of adventure, A TRAVEL GUIDE TO HEAVEN takes us on a virtual tour of eternal life.
This is one trip you won’t want to miss!
Our Final Destination
…Did you ever see, The Wizard of Oz? Remember how Dorothy and her three friends go off in search of the things they each want most in the whole world? Things they feel they either lost or never had to begin with? One wants courage, one intelligence, one a heart, and one a true home. The moral of that story is that you really don’t have to embark on a long journey to a see a wizard in order to secure those things. In fact, if you really want to find them, you probably don’t have to look farther than your own backyard.
Heaven is a little like that. People think of it as something so far off, so unclear and hazy, that they can’t focus on it. They don’t realize that what they’re looking for is right under their nose…
To put it simply, our final destination as humans is not some unidentified point of light zillions of miles from where we are now. Nor is it some psychological state of mind. Our final destination, ironically, is right here on good old planet Earth. The Bible makes it crystal clear that at least part of heaven will be this "new Earth." And it will be the same earth we’ve lived on during our lifetimes, the same Earth that has been the home to billions of human beings over the long course of history. But like human beings, the Earth itself is going to experience a death and resurrection of sorts…
Our Fellow Travelers
…A tremendous part of the happiness and pleasure that we are destined to experience in heaven will not come from our incredible new bodies, or from our incredible new surroundings. Rather, it will come from the people we are with, from our fellow travelers…
Do All Dogs Go To Heaven?
Since we’ve been describing heaven as an all-inclusive vacation, it’s only fair to ask: Are pets allowed at this resort?…
We spoke a little about that first morning in heaven-- the first moments of that remarkable reunion, when sons and daughters reunite with their mothers and fathers after ages of being apart. Well, we left out one important detail in that description. We didn’t say that in the midst of all the excitement, in the midst of all the laughing and crying, just as you’re hugging your mom or dad for the first time, you shouldn’t be surprised if you suddenly feel something wet licking your hand. You shouldn't be shocked if you feel a paw anxiously poking at your leg. When you look down, you can well guess what you’re going to see-- your old, faithful dog. Only he won't be old and sick, like the last time you saw him. He’ll be young again, and he’ll be as vibrant and alive and exuberant as he was years ago, when you used to run with him and play with him for hours.
Our Tour Guide
Wouldn't it be great to go on vacation and have your own personal planner and tour guide? Someone who could assist you in planning your trip, and then show you the best sights to see once you arrive? Someone who could anticipate your every need beforehand and then help facilitate arrangements so that you could get to where you were going quickly, safely and efficiently?…
Rest In Peace? Not!
…Our ultimate destination is not static, cloudy and boring. It is dynamic; filled with activity, pulsating with energy. It is a place of Life, not sleep.
T.S. Eliot said that human beings should be explorers, no matter what their age. In heaven, we’ll get that chance. There will be so much to see and investigate, so much to enjoy-- and so much time to do it in. We’ll be able to go on sightseeing excursions to a million different counties, cities, planets, galaxies and universes.
Your Ticket To Heaven
…There’s only one more question left for us to deal with: where do we sign up? How can we get our ticket to heaven?
After all, how much would you pay for a ticket to a place like this-- a place where you’re going to have life everlasting, life with your family and friends, life without suffering, life as a super-being in a super-world? What would you do in order to gain entry into this community?…
Let’s say you were going on vacation to Hawaii, and on the day of the trip you went to the airport, stepped up to the ticket counter, and found out that someone had already purchased the ticket for you. In fact, not only had the airline ticket been bought, but the entire package was yours for free—transfers, hotels, helicopter rides, daytrips, everything! All you had to do was follow the signs to your gate, and board the plane. How surprised and happy would you be?
Well, that’s exactly what God has done for us. He’s already purchased our tickets to heaven…
