Dreamers are a special breed -- one might even say a pedigree. It sets them apart but in so doing often brings derision. They are sometimes scoffed at, ridiculed and made to feel silly. Yet only from dreamers come the original innovations and ideas which propel the world in new and progressive directions. They are in every sense of the word, creators -- in fact they are doing the bidding of the Supreme Creator. It is exciting to be creators and dreamers. Thank goodness many of us are brave enough to follow our hearts and carry on towards our goals. It would be a dull world if that were not so. It is a choice to ignore the scoffers, well-meaning though some may be.
God has blessed everyone, you included, with various talents; our gift is to bring them to Him enhanced and beautified especially in ways that benefit our world no matter in which arenas we choose to do that -- it is a responsibility to do so. Moreover, it is important to nurture and encourage our children as dreamers, allowing them to explore beyond the ordinary, climb out of the box and to use their imagination in a healthy way – not doing so inhibits an inquisitive mind and is detrimental not only to them and us but to the progression of society.
It is with the above train of thought that I segue into what has become my favourite subject . . . “Dreams, as Applied to Heaven.” In doing so I am assuming that you already believe that Heaven is as real a place as this world Earth we are now in -- otherwise what I write may not make sense to you. There is much factual evidence and undeniable proof that heaven is real but with some guidance you can discover that for yourself easily enough so I won’t prove that point here.
In heaven there is the norm, the extraordinary, the unexpected, the wonders, archives of unbridled and infinite imagination, always lovely; imagine sitting on a beach at sunset and in the sky there are two suns and a planet with rings like Saturn -- golden rays from the sunset stream across the rings toward you. Or imagine swimming around a beautifully coloured coral reef among fluorescent kinds of fish of fabulous colours without needing oxygen or a facemask.
Imagination is an awesome gift from God to us.
To understand what it actually means to know that you own that gift and to know that when you die you immediately enter into an eternal future is a humbling thought, but it carries with it a very important duty – that of telling other people about it so they want to live in this heaven also. Not to do so is a dereliction of our earthly duty. It should be done with an enthusiastic heart, overflowing with gratefulness to God because we ourselves have received that gift from Him. We should simply love to tell others so they would want the same. We need to be able to paint a picture of eternal life.
So why don’t born-again believers who are in ownership of eternal life tell other people? Simple – most have nothing to tell because they don’t know what to sell. They don’t know what the gift is made up of. They have nothing other than Biblical scriptures to get excited about, and yes, while the scriptures authentically point us in the right direction, one must read, research and use imagination and interpretation to flush out what heaven is, what it can be and relate that to others. Heaven is very exciting but if you cannot explain the benefits of eternal life in heaven what can you offer as an incentive to cause people to want the same? You cannot. You must have the information. So what is eternal life? What is it made up of?
My last column covered some of what I found by reading but I feel the need to get down to fundamentals to simplify the path to take. I will repeat some of that research for necessity and clarity. I won’t sugar-coat it – time is too short. If you can stand the heat, read on.
Because I was diagnosed with a late-stage cancer deemed incurable I had to face the reality that short of a miracle I would die soon -- in fact it was estimated by the top esophageal cancer surgeon in Canada that nothing more could be done for me medically and in her approximation I had a year to live. That was on May 27th 2010. Once gone from her office I decided that I wouldn’t give up searching for a cure. That is why I liked May 28, 2011, I’m still here. I’m working on naturopathic and homeopathic cures. However, I realize only too well that a few days or months extra, although very welcome is really within her dire approximation and naturally it can happen any day now. So knowing I would be going to heaven my sense of urgency caused me to investigate the afterlife. What I found causes me to tell as many people as I can about what I discovered.
It is worth it, to put it mildly.
So what are my tools? Where is my evidence? Where is my proof? Where do I draw my confirmation from? From the Bible, Old and New Testaments, which I take to be the irrefutable Word of God, that conclusion being based on my last few years of continuous study. It is not needed for me to show Biblical proof here; as I said, you can find that easily if it is your desire and I hope it is. Once I established that it was indeed the Truth I was led to other examples of proof.
But what is the attraction of eternal life? That is a question which has many delightful answers but if I can bring it down to a relatively simple one it would be this: a life where one lives in an existence where there is no more sickness, pain, sorrow or sadness, where one could realize every worthwhile dream they had ever thought of, surrounded by loving family, friends and pets (yes, pets), set among the most beautiful and unbelievable surroundings – eternally. If this causes you to scoff I have to remind you that you are limiting God.
My other examples of proof alongside the Bible were books written by those who had actually gone to heaven, returned and wrote about what they saw; I read two of those books followed by a marvellous and indispensable book called Heaven, by Randy Alcorn. An absolutely ‘must have’ book. Randy didn’t go to heaven himself but through 25 years of study he found extensive and credible Biblical proof that the accounts of these authors and others who did go had absolute foundation and substance.
These following two books were among others I used for my research: 1. Within Heaven’s Gates, by Ruth Springer, and 2. Heaven is for Real, the story of a little boy’s trip to heaven and back. Read books 1 and 2 before reading Heaven to get suitable perspective.
So what do you want? What are your dreams – remembering that they must be pure and God-approvable? Take into consideration that nothing is impossible with God so you can be as imaginative as you wish, or perhaps not – simply a beautiful garden to relax in with your faithful old dogs or cats may be all you want. I would like that very much.
However, when you are in heaven how about you taking your family on a trip, say to a far-off galaxy to visit an unknown planet? God would arrange the travel and the planet’s atmosphere so it was of no danger to you. You could stay as long as you wanted, build a cottage or a house and visit whenever you decided. Remember you have eternity. Sound silly? Not to God and not to a dreamer -- if that is indeed what you are? Perhaps you might realize the dream of staging a musical or writing books or acting in plays. Perhaps you might like to take in a speech by Martin Luther, John Wesley, or Winston Churchill or a seminar by Einstein or a concert by Beethoven, Strauss or Mozart, or deep sea fishing, golf, bungee-jumping, sky-diving, laying on a tropical beach, or just relaxing in your beautiful back garden with your all-time favourite friends. You will only be limited by your imagination. It takes courage to be a dreamer but you have every reason to be one. The gift is real and it is yours for the taking. Whatever you dream can be the reality in heaven -- no matter what is happening in your own world now. Read the books and use your imagination.
Michael is a freelance writer in Toronto. 
