A small boy was given explanation that his grandfather had gone to heaven.  He accompanied his family to the funeral home, and when he saw his grandfather’s body in the casket, he said, “So this is heaven!”  The funeral home isn’t heaven, but this earth isn’t heaven, either.  The fact that this earth is not heaven, is perhaps the best explanation as to why we are not exempt to problems.

I believe it was Rick Warren who said that life isn’t so much mountains and valleys,  as we tend to think, but is actually more like the two parallel rails of a railroad track, with both good and bad taking place at the same time.  There are always good things, and there are always things that aren’t so good.

Just last week, I talked to someone who said, “I have lost all faith in the goodness of God.”  This person had gone through a heart-breaking relationship problem.  What do we expect?  Do we expect no problems?  Are we to gauge God’s goodness by the level of our comfort?  If we have to have those answers spelled out to us, we would be too dumb to understand it, anyway!

There is a heaven, and God has revealed that it is a place that stands in stark contrast to this life.  When we are told that God will wipe every tear from eyes, the implication is that there are tears to be cried while we are here.  There is pain, sickness, sorrow, and crying here, because this isn’t heaven.  This is the funeral home!