A Garage in Heaven

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!  But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  -- 2 Peter 3:10-12

I ran across this Corvette commercial.   

"Corvette Heaven" from Philip Volkoff on Vimeo.


It's only a couple of minutes if you want to watch. 

Some of the comments you can read at the link seem to miss the point.  Spoiler:  he never gets to buy a Corvette.  To some the message is that life is short and uncertain, and you ought to take care of yourself first.  That's a good way to end up old, miserly, bitter, and disappointed. 

This guy was never disappointed.  He lived a full life, sharing, loving and helping.  He thought more of his family, his child, and those in need than he thought of himself.  I think he found as much joy in dreaming about and saving for the Corvette as he would have had owning and driving one.  Perhaps more.  Not one scene shows him feeling sorry for himself. 

It's hard for me to fully identify since a Corvette was never on my list of things I'd really like to have.  I don't think there is anything wrong with having a dream machine or a dream house.  A person might dream about a sailboat or a big motorhome, a mountain cabin or a beach house.  Those are good dreams to save up for and work toward.  But if anything becomes the Most Important Thing in life, it's an idol.  The man in the commercial never made that mistake.  He knew what was important.  He knew what mattered. 

Yes, life is short, and we never know what is coming our way or when it might end.  My family has a custom of placing a few small things in the coffin when one of us dies.  Somebody usually makes sure the departed has a small amount of money, like a five-dollar bill, tucked in a hand or jacket pocket.  Our possessions, though, no matter how we valued them in this life, do not cross over with us.  The old joke about the rich man asks, How much did he leave?  The answer comes:  All of it.


I like how the ESV translates these verses in Second Peter.  Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be ....  When we pass on from this life, we will pass into the full, solid reality of heaven -- or something else.  By comparison to those weightier, eternal joys, all of our earthly existence will be a vapor or a morning fog.

That Corvette commercial is pretty good theology.  It reminds me of this:  Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).