What’s the best day you can recall?
For me, it would be the day I married Diana. Unforgettable. Our honeymoon trip to the tourist trap known as Wisconsin Dells is without doubt the most fun and the most fabulous memory I have.
(You who are more spiritually minded will have to forgive me for not mentioning the day I received Christ as my favorite day. But I was such a little kid at the time, I sort of took it all in stride).
For our daughter, Lynnette, her favorite day on the whole calendar is….can you guess? Hint: It’s not Christmas, Give up? It’s the Fourth of July. Her flags and bunting and red-white-and-blue decorations are up weeks before the big day. She and her family wouldn’t dream of taking in just one fireworks show. They go to several.
This year during Fourth of July celebrations, Lynnette commented happily, “This is the best day!” With four little kids around, she never lacks for an audience. Five-year-old Caleb heard his mom’s pronouncement and begged to differ. In a respectful but forthright tone, he countered, “Actually, the best day is the day we get to heaven.”
Ka-pow! Score one point for the five-year-old.
The very first second we are conscious in heaven, we will certainly conclude, “this is the best day.” Perfect health. Perfect faith. Perfect rest. Best of all, we’ll enjoy a perfect Savior whom we’ll worship perfectly doing perfectly suited tasks in a perfect environment perfectly satisfied for ever and ever.
Caleb reminds us of Paul’s happy assertion in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “This is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.’”
No wonder Paul later declares in Philippians 1:23, “I'm torn between two desires” (going to heaven versus. remaining on earth). “I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me.”
Next time somebody asks you about your favorite day, I dare you to resist choosing any date from your past. Instead, point to the future. Point to heaven.