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West Palm Beach and Heaven
By Dr. Joel Nelson:Bio on April 3, 2008
Over Easter break my wife, high school daughter, and I went to visit my in-laws Boyton Beach, FL on the Atlantic side, near West Palm Beach. They are snowbirds from Michigan and winter there from October to April. One of the things we did for fun was take a two hour boat tour on the Intracoastal Waterway. The real “fascination” with this tour is passing all the exclusive, extravagant, eccentric, multi-million dollar homes on the water and hearing the tour guide tell you that this owner spent $50,000 on new living room draperies, this owner had a special swimming pool built for her two dogs, this house is owned by the CEO of Office Depot who only comes once a year, this house has six kitchens, this house has a 72 inch flat screen TV on the patio, this house was given by the owner of the Miami Dolphins and Blockbuster to his daughter as a wedding present…etc, etc, etc. A part of you marvels, and a part of you wants to puke.
While the tremendous wealth these homeowners have is a great, God-given blessing—and many of the owners may do wonderful humanitarian and philanthropic things—I wondered how many homeless could be housed, how many starving fed, how many uninsured covered, how many illiterate educated if some of the money spent on worldly pleasures and social status were channeled elsewhere. I also wondered how many of these mansion owners realized that their wealthy wherewithall would eventually rust and ruin.
On our little Florida vacation, we also went to Hope Lutheran Church in West Palm Beach where pastor Jon Enter, with incredible feeling and insight, continued the wonderful message of Easter by expressing how Christ’s resurrection seems just too good to be true, but it is absolutely, totally, undeniably true. He said, “Christ is alive and well and is ruling over heaven and earth at this very moment. It’s not too good to be true. It’s so good that it is true. It’s so perfect, wonderful, and fantastic that Christ is risen because it changes everything.”
Because of Jesus, we will someday enjoy eternal mansions in heaven where rust and ruin will never more be seen, and that will make Palm Beach property look like puppy huts. Because of Jesus and the change his Holy Spirit works, we are no longer driven by great wealth and treasures on earth. Rather, we are driven to “store up” treasures in heaven, to use the earthly and financial gifts God gives us to spread the Word so that more and more people—real treasures—will be in heaven with us.
I enjoyed my Easter vacation, and West Palm Beach was awesome. But heaven will be OUT OF THIS WORLD! Thank you, Jesus.
Topics: GENERAL, Living Bold, Parish Services