This past month my family and I were in Washington, DC and stayed at a hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. On the Monday evening we were there we walked down the road to Cesco Trattoria, an Italian place that the hotel desk staff recommended.

Oh, my!

From the freshly baked bread, to the bottle of Chianti, to the freshly made (on site) pasta dishes and the meat that we had (a filet and some venison) with the pasta everything was amazing. Truly fantastic to the point where I could not stop exclaiming how good it was.

I have eaten out quite a bit in my life and worked in some mighty fine establishments, and this is by far the best meal I have had in recent memory, possibly my whole life. We sat around the table, the children, Raquel, Gabrielle, and Theresa and me waxing and enjoying and in a froth about how good this food was. The wine was perfect for the meal and we just ate and ate and were filled with joy at the artistry of the chef.

Midway through the meal it hit me, and I made an announcement to the table: Do you all realize that the food in heaven is better than this?

Better. Better in unimaginable ways.

As I wrote yesterday I have been longing for heaven quite a bit of late, and so I’m going to vent those desires as some short writings about heaven here on the blog. One thing about heaven that I don’t think most of us believe on most days is that it’s better. And by better I mean better than anything here. All of the good stuff (90% Cacao chocolate, Single Barrel aged Bourbon, homemade cookies, finely aged cheese, whole wheat crust pizza, homemade tomato soup . . . ad infinitum) is better there.

And by better I mean on a scale that we can’t even imagine. So much better that we couldn’t handle it without crying in joy it’s so good. And on top of that—we’ll enjoy it with Jesus. And above all else that’s what makes heaven so special. We’re with Jesus. And He will give freely all of these things that we have here—only better—forever.

Every week I taste, briefly, heavenly food as we come to the Lord’s Table. And it is so only a taste. But a taste nonetheless.

And later? More, better, and with Jesus. When we’re Home and praising Him forever.