Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Back in the day, (in my day,..you know, the age of antiquity), young newspaper boys in the big cities would yell out the message, "Extra, extra, read all about it!" and hold up the newspaper so people could see the headlines in large print. Their announcement was designed to draw attention to the news of the day and to create in the hearers a desire to read more of the news. Not much different today is how we hear small sound bites of news on the TV designed to grab our attention. Usually in the middle of commercial breaks we hear these spoken headlines that end with the promise of More at 11! Yesterday's newspapers would print an additional copy of the daily news so a late-breaking story could get more attention. Thus the name extra, or additional copy. Lately I have been pondering the meaning of these two words. I have begun to think about them at fast food drive-thrus. Let's explore this leftover thought today. I have to get this one out of my head.
At one of my favorite places to eat, I can ask for an additional honey mustard sauce to be added to my order. This particular chain has several restaurants in my area. They have their own brand of dipping sauce and without fail, at every one of these locations, they offer to replace their sauce with the honey mustard. I know they are only trying to save me money. You have to pay 25 cents for each additional sauce. But it seems like they never hear the word additional or heed its meaning. I usually have to explain that I want both, their own special sauce and the honey mustard. But lately, I think I've gotten a breakthrough. Instead of saying the word additional at the drive thru speaker, I have begun to use the word extra. I've tried it at two different locations. So far, we have communicated exceptionally well. They add the honey mustard, I pay 'em the quarter and it is almost like heaven...almost...but not quite. Sorry...that experience is not even close to heaven.
If you ask someone if they would like to go to heaven, most people will say yes. That is, if they believe there's a heaven. And even if some don't, some will hedge their bets and opt for heaven just in case it might be a reality. Now if heaven is real, there may be an alternative location some folks would reason. And here's where I really want to go with today's leftover thought. Most people want to go to heaven. It gets interesting when they tell you why. Some will say that they would rather go to heaven than hell. I can see the wisdom in that. Then there are those that say they want to go to heaven to see their loved ones. Now they have to make assumptions that the loved ones will be there when they get there...which is another assumption altogether! Some want to go where there is no pain and suffering. Who wouldn't want that? Some are waiting to occupy a mansion that they say will be given title to. Some want to claim their rewards for the good lives they have lived while on earth. Then there are those who think their pets who died will be there. All these things make good theological discussions. But occasionally you will hear someone say they want to go to heaven to be with their God. I think these are folks who have had a significant breakthrough in their understanding of life and death and life after death. They want to be with their God, the One who has been with them. You see, folks may not always understand things that are additional. Additional things are things that are added. But extra is extra! We understand extra. Extra says that I am receiving more than I thought I would. More than I earned. More than I expected. The extra is what God has done to get me to heaven. It is not what I have done. Extra is when God grants more to us when we deserve less. Extra is what grace is all about. Extra is heaven when hell is deserved. Being in Heaven with God is extra enough. But when other things are added in, it is more than extra. God has made a way for me to spend eternity with Him. He has done through Jesus what we cannot do for ourselves. That is EXTRA, EXTRA good news!!!
Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (Eph 3:20-21)
Extra, Extra, Read All About It. Take the time, some extra time today to read in the Bible about what God has done and what God is doing and what God will do. Heaven is all about marvelling at the awesome work of an awesome God forever and ever. Heaven is more about a Person than a place. And anything else that heaven may be is over-the-top and out-of-this world extra.