Heaven's Campfire

 "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." John 21:25

    Every year, when I was a kid, my family went on a camping trip. A pop-up camper followed us everywhere we went, dutifully toting a Coleman stove, a cooler of waxed-paper-wrapped sandwiches and a homemade wooden box full of kitchenware. After exploring the mammoth caves of Kentucky or the purple mountain majesties of the Rockies, we'd set up camp, meet the neighbors and settle 'round a campfire. There's something relaxing and mesmerizing about a fire that soon brings out the storytelling. My dad's spooky tale of the man with the golden arm sent shivers down my spine, making sleep elusive. Mom always ate the burnt marshmallows and, one year, my sister Jan's shoes caught on fire (thankfully, she was not wearing them at the time.) Ah, the memories!

    God is the ultimate storyteller, as anyone would know by reading the Bible. Here's just a sampling: A worldwide deluge, a parted Red Sea, amazing angels and vivid dreams, angry giants and hungry lions, evil queens and godly ones, flaming chariots, a floating ax head and even a talking donkey. Plots thicken around richly ornamented characters, who are shown with their warts and all, until the stage is set for a Babe to be born in Bethlehem. God's Son stood His ground against all evil - healing, loving, challenging, questioning, forgiving and dying, hailing victory over death as He strode from an empty tomb! 

    Now imagine sitting close to Jesus around a campfire in heaven, listening attentively to all the stories that were not in the Bible, watching his nail-scarred hands emphasizing his robust words. Awe and laughter will erupt from a rapt audience as we cheer for our heroes of the faith! We'll applaud as the subject of each story humbly stands to be acknowledged and, like happy children, we will beg our Father to hear them over and over again, all of them true!

    Whoever thinks heaven is going to be boring is not engaging their imagination!

"But as for me, it is good to be near God." Psalm 73:28