“Heaven” By Rodney Tilley

BY RODNEY TILLEY, PASTOR VAN HORN COMMUNITY CHURCH

I have just returned from the old Rattlesnake Bomber Base in Pyote, and it was great.  A local young man showed me the sights: the huge triangle runways, the deserted buildings, the underground bomb shelters, and the once majestic murals now forgotten painted on the walls. 

My father, who was a B-17 pilot in WWII, had been there in the past and he told me of these places to which he flew and even in his flight records it was mentioned. Today I was transported back to that day in 1946 and I felt that I could hear the airplane engines roar and hear his voice as I walked the very concrete that he had walked years before.
 
It was a very moving experience and it brought me to tears. He had told me about it but now I have seen it, and it was just as he said. I had passed that way many times on I-20 and although it was hidden from my eyes, it was there all the time.  Which brings me to my point: Heaven.
 
Heaven? I am not saying Pyote is heaven, far from it, but I am saying that the principle remains the same. My father, who I knew personally, had told me of things which I have never seen, but I believed it nonetheless, for it comes from a credible witness and it is backed up by documentation.
 
I had never seen the runways nor the bomb shelters in Pyote, Texas before today, but now I have and I can say with all honesty, my father was right. By the way, I have never seen a lot of things, but I believe it is true as well. I have never been to India, but I have Indian friends who tell me of the joys of that country.

I have seen pictures depicting the Taj Mahal, but I have not touched it nor seen its beauty, but others have and they tell me it is magnificent, and I believe them. Which brings me to my point: Heaven.

I have never seen heaven yet, but there are some very credible people who have and historically have told us all about it, and it has been documented as well. Jesus, the prophets, the disciples, and many more believers have mentioned heaven over and over. They have described if for us telling us of the joys of a place that was prepared just for us.

They have seen it, they have been there and back, and they put it down with pen and script, so that we too could understand that there is a place where we too can walk where they have walked and experience all the splendors of that city built by God. Jesus has even said that while he is gone between his first and second coming that he is preparing a place for us (John 14:3).

Heaven? You can bet it is.

And today, yes, I caught a glimpse of that, for I remembered my father and all his love and his sacrifice for me, and yes today, I also remembered my heavenly Father as well, who has given me His love in even greater ways. 

Both credible witnesses and both in heaven.  I thought to myself today, “Who got the best deal? My father who is in heaven, experiencing the love of those past as well as the love of God, or me left here on earth?” I think I know the answer, which brings me to my  point: HEAVEN!

For more information on heaven, please call Pastor Rodney Tilley at the Van Horn Community Church at 432-207-0015.

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