“And the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein

The story is told of a miner who struck gold and carried his bag of nuggets with him everywhere he went. He did not trust banks or safety deposit boxes to hold his gold. One day he died and went to heaven, still carrying his pouch filled with gold nuggets. When he arrived in heaven, the angel Gabriel asked him why he was carrying asphalt. “This is not asphalt,” explained the miner, “this is gold.” Gabriel replied, “On earth it’s called gold, but here in heaven we use it to pave our streets and call it asphalt.”

This story leads us to think about what we consider valuable – and what is truly valuable to God. Revelation 21 gives a description of heaven’s street: It is pure gold, like transparent glass” (vs.21). We value gold as being the world’s most precious metal, and we use it make our most prized possessions. In heaven it will be what we walk on.

My wife and I make an annual autumn trip to Charleston, S.C. Here in this warm and welcome city are some of the best restaurants in the world - Hyman’s, Magnolia’s, Melvin’s BBQ, Hank’s, to name a few favorites. After twenty years we finally found Charleston’s treasure: Bertha’s Kitchen at 2332 Meeting Street, North Charleston. The best food in town for half the price of Charleston’s five-stars. Here are Bertha’s three daughters and grand-daughter holding it down on our last visit. God Lord willing, we hope to see them again. Food good for nothing - but just eatin’. That’s all it’s good for!