DEVOTION / If this is death, it is sweet.

Only a few people are afforded a glimpse of heaven.

Dwight L. Moody was one of them.

Moody’s glimpse of heaven

Moody (1837-1899) was an American evangelist and publisher. In addition to founding the Moody Church, the Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers, he had an outsized influence of spreading the Christian message across the United States and beyond.

On his deathbed, Moody told his family, “Earth recedes, and heaven opens before me.”

His son, Will, assumed his father was dreaming. But Moody corrected him, “No, this is no dream, Will. It is beautiful! It is like a trance! If this is death, it is sweet. There is no valley here! God is calling me, and I must go.”

Our guarantee of heaven

Few people are afforded a glimpse of heaven. But we don't need to see heaven to know it awaits us.

Jesus' empty cross and empty tomb provide all the guarantees we need.

• "Because I live," Jesus promised, "you also will live" (John 14:19).

• “I am the resurrection and the life," Jesus assures us. "The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this (John 11:25-26)?”

We will probably never be able to describe heaven to our loved ones before we die. But heaven is nonetheless there for us. We have Jesus' word on it.