HIS THREE HOUR JOURNEY

The church is packed.

Phil, the speaker, lives the true real-simple lifestyle. He doesn’t own a car, television or a telephone. And his house is sans electricity.

Repeatedly during his hour plus talk he comes near tears, recalling his three hour journey. Though only occasionally has he traveled further than 50 miles from his home; the story of his journey has the crowd of 500 plus intensely focused.

Phil often repeats the phrase, “It was unreal,” while describing his journey.

His three hour journey? He’s talking about a journey to heaven.

The Apostle Paul alludes to his own journey to Heaven: “I know this man – whether in the body or apart from the body, I don’t know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise (heaven).

“Is Phil’s story real?” I thought.

God knows.

His story goes: while alone one morning at work, he was suddenly taken up to heaven. And there he met Jesus and was given a tour of heaven. Phil says about his look-in-the-eyes meeting with Jesus: “There was fire in His eyes.” He stops, as a rush of emotion halts his words . . . “but when you love the Lord Jesus, they’re loving kind.”

He finishes speaking, walks stage right and sits down. Lowering his head -- the weight of his eternally engraved journey wears like a tattoo on his slumped body. There’s no offering tonight. He refuses to accept one. An honorarium? No. “Give the money to someone needy.”

The scriptures remind: “Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”

So many times I need to do a mental brake-hard and once again hear Phil’s almost begging, journey-inspired words. “Let’s be true followers of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

They still echo in my head as I transcend from earth.