Heavenly thinking is learning to see all and do all with the perspective of eternity. It is something we can learn to do. Do you know someone who has learned to set their hearts on what is above? Have you seen someone who faced death without fear but with joyful anticipation? Do you know someone who faces conflict with grace and trials with serenity? Do you know someone who is content in this world? If so, then you probably have a living example of one who has learned to “look up”. Let me share with you a story:
Martha was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation, but one of the most faithful. One day, she shared the news with her pastor that her doctor had just discovered a previously undetected tumor. “He says I probably have six months to live.” Martha’s words were certainly serious, yet there was a definite calm about her. “The Lord has been good. I have lived a long life. I’m ready to go. You know that. But I do want to talk with you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it, and there are things that I know I want.”
They talked about Martha’s favorite hymns, the passages of Scripture that had meant so much to her through the years, and the many memories they shared from the 5 years the pastor had been with the church.
When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Martha paused, and then added, “One more thing, pastor. When they bury me, I want my old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other.” “A fork? Why do you want to be buried with a fork?”
“I have been thinking about all the church dinners that I attended through the years,” she explained. “I couldn’t begin to count them all. But one thing sticks in my mind. At those really nice get-togethers, when the meal was almost finished, sometimes, somebody would lean over my shoulder and whisper, `You can keep your fork.’ And do you know what that meant? Dessert was coming! It didn’t mean a cup of Jell-O or pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don’t need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, like chocolate cake or cherry pie! When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come!
“That’s exactly what I want people to talk about at my funeral. Oh, they can talk about all the good times we had together. “But when they walk by my casket and look at my pretty blue dress, I want them to turn to one another and say, `Why the fork?’
“That’s what I want you to say. I want you to tell them that I kept my fork because the best is yet to come.”
This woman understood what it meant to set her heart and mind above. As you go into the week ahead, no matter what you face, I pray you will remember to keep to look up often and to keep your fork in your hand. (REV. BRUCE GOETTSCHE)