Is This Heaven?
This past Father's Day, I had the opportunity to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with my dad and my son. One of my dad’s all-time favorite movies is Field of Dreams (1989). My son is also becoming really enamored with the game of baseball. He enjoys playing it, he enjoys watching it, and he enjoys talking about it. For my dad’s 70th birthday, we took a trip to enjoy this game. We went to baseball games in Milwaukee and Chicago, and we also visited the original Field of Dreams movie site in Dyersville, Iowa.
The movie stars Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella, an Iowan farmer who mows down his crops to build a baseball field with the vision and idea that deceased baseball players will come back and play on this field. The movie takes a very fascinating turn when those players actually show up. That field still exists today and is kept in virtually the same condition as it was when the movie was filmed in 1989.
I don’t know if my father will ever visit this field again. I don’t know if my son or I will visit this field again, either. I think that was part of what made it so special. It’s easier to appreciate something when you know it’s rare. As the three of us threw a ball around on the field (and yes, this started with me asking my dad if he wanted to have a catch, and we both started crying), I couldn’t help but notice the atmosphere there.
There were plenty of other people who came out to the field and did the same thing that we did. When I go to baseball games now, I notice a lot of highly competitive people who let their emotions get the best of them, but not at the Field of Dreams. There weren’t any games going on there, but there was a lot of community. There was a lot of wishing one another safe travels and the best experiences while there. I pitched to total strangers, and my son did fielding practice with guys in their 50s. Everyone complimented one another’s play. Everyone rooted for one another. Everyone was just happy to be at the field.
During the movie, there’s an iconic question that Ray is asked more than once by the “ghost players” while on the field: “Is this heaven?”
Ray’s response was always the same: “No. It’s Iowa.”
Toward the end of the movie, a number of events cause Ray to change his perspective on his farm-turned-ball-field, and he then responds with, “Maybe this IS heaven.”
There are plenty of sermons, books, podcasts, and general ideas of what heaven will be like. We wonder and we imagine with twinkles in our eyes. We sing songs about it in our worship with lyrics describing “streets of gold” and “no more sorrow or pain.” These things might be true.
However, I have a hard time believing that heaven is simply a place where everyone is rich and nothing is ever difficult. That sounds like a lawnmower experience where, in heaven, God has just mowed down everything in our way that might make life difficult, and everything is perfect and easy.
In the movie, nobody’s rich. Ray is about to go bankrupt, and the ballplayers have nothing other than their uniforms and baseball equipment. There is also struggle as a character almost dies on the field.
When I imagine heaven, I don’t think about riches or a lack of struggle. I really only imagine two things: God and people being present. Beyond that, I don’t really care what else is there. Gold being there would be great, but I’ll take dirt just as well. We can be rich or poor. If we’re all there, then I don’t think anyone will really care. I want to be able to rest in the warm embrace of Christ. I want to cheer on others as they enter into heaven’s realm. I want to celebrate the thousands of reunions that will be taking place with all generations of Christ-followers. I know that Christ will be beside me in doing just that.
As I threw that baseball around the field with my dad, my son, and a host of strangers, I couldn’t help but wonder if God could show up at a place like this, and we just decided to call it heaven. The baseball can stay or go, but the presence of the Almighty God, along with the host of those whom He has called, can and will be staying forever.
Would this be heaven?
I would be ok with that.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)
