Solving The Puzzle

As I stood there and thought through a scriptural basis for experiencing heaven without dying, I realized that Colton, in telling me he had died “for a little bit,” had only been trying to match up his pastor-dad’s assertion with what he knew to be the facts of his own experience. Kind of like walking outside and finding that the street is wet, and concluding, well, okay, it must have rained.

—HEAVEN IS FOR REAL, 80–81

Todd

The only time I work jigsaw puzzles is when I’m coerced, usually by one of my kids. Then the only way out of it is to just get the thing done, which for me means looking at the picture on the top of the box. Yes, I know there are ways to put it together without looking at the picture—you can pull out the edge pieces or sort out the colors. But I’m one of those guys who isn’t big on following directions. I am good at looking at pictures. Just show me the picture, and let’s get on with it.

In many ways, Bible verses about heaven are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, but the problem is that the Bible doesn’t have a picture of heaven on the cover. How do you put the pieces together without a picture? Reading some of those Scripture verses is like sitting down at the puzzle table and looking at a big pile of pieces with no clue how they go together. It’s hard. Confusing. Frustrating.

And then along comes a kid, Colton, telling us he’s been to heaven and here’s what it’s like. He describes his visit to heaven in the words of a young child, words that everyone can understand. Colton’s story helps create the picture we need so we can see how the puzzle pieces about heaven fit together.

Stories help us understand lots of complicated things. Jesus used many stories about everyday things—farmers, fig trees, sheep, wolves and shepherds, fishermen—so that anyone listening could understand the truth behind those stories.

A lot of people have a hope of heaven, but they’re kind of sketchy on the pieces of the puzzle and how they fit together. Some of the Bible’s passages about heaven are hard to understand. For many people, Colton’s visit to heaven, told in our simple story, provides that “aha!” moment when suddenly the picture comes together.

Once we can “see” heaven and understand that it’s real, all sorts of good things happen to us in personal, everyday ways. Doubts are removed. Endurance is strengthened. Courage is emboldened. Grief is erased. It’s like a little kid is saying earnestly to all of us, “Jesus is the truth, and he can be trusted.”

And we believe him.

At least, that’s how it has worked for me. And other people have let me know Colton’s experience helped them the same way. One of them is my mom. She told me, “Ever since this happened, I think more about what it might really be like in heaven. I accepted the idea of heaven before, but now I visualize it. Before, I’d heard, but now I know that someday I’m going to see.”

If you’ve pushed the Bible’s puzzle pieces to the corner of your life because the puzzle just seems too hard to figure out, let Colton’s story provide the picture you need to see how the pieces fit together.

For some earthly practice in putting together the Bible’s words about heaven, Sonja suggests sitting down with your kids and working a jigsaw puzzle. (Todd says look at the picture first. You’ll get finished faster.)

He taught by using stories, many stories. . . . He continued, “Do you see how this story works? All my stories work this way.”

—Mark 4:2, 13 MSG