There's life in the incubator -- a chorus of chirping chicks. I believe it's an octet at this point. Several other eggs are cracked and rolling one way and another as the tiny lives inside work at breaking into this world. It's amazing, the miracle of life.

For the past three weeks it seemed an exercise in futility: kneeling over the open incubator three times a day, turning each and every seemingly lifeless egg carefully. But now there's a tiny flock of adorable, fluffy, chirping, pecking little creatures staggering about on two legs. I hatch chicks almost every spring, but I never cease to be amazed at this miracle.

I sometimes think we take for granted the miracle of new life that happens all around us all the time. Seeds of any plant seem as lifeless as a small stone, but plant them in warm, wet earth and within days life erupts. Two of the fish in my pond spawn an entire school of fish. A buck and a doe come together in the woods behind our home and a fawn results. A man and a woman love each other and a miniature human being comes into existence. The miracle of new life is every place you turn, especially in spring.

Maybe this is why I can believe that God has life for us beyond the grave. If God continues to create life all around us all the time, He certainly can recreate our lives on the other side of death.

You were wondering just exactly what the next life will be like. Well, first of all, Jesus made it clear in His teachings that there are two possible destinations after death: heaven and hell.

I saw a poll that said 80% of the people questioned believed in heaven, but only 67% believed in hell. I'm not surprised; hell isn't as popular an idea as heaven is. We have no trouble believing in a loving God creating a heaven for His people, but a hell? Yet when you give it some thought, it does make sense.

Heaven is the place for those who want to be with God. Hell is the place for those who don't want to be with God. Because God is a God of love, He doesn't force us to be in a relationship with Him; we talked about that early on in our correspondence. That means He won't force people to spend eternity with Him. Because we’re eternal creatures given free choice, we have the option of spending eternity either with God or apart from Him. Being apart from God is hell.

This life is the time of choosing whether we want to be with God or not. He gives us the opportunity to decide for or against Him. We usually think of the final judgment as the time after this life when God tells people where they will go. In a real sense He’ll only be sending people where their hearts were already inclined: toward Him or away from Him. We determine our own eternal destiny.

As to what either heaven or hell is like, I don't have a lot I can tell you. Does heaven have literal streets of gold and gates of pearl? Is hell a literal place of fire and brimstone?

I agree with the writer C.S. Lewis, who was inclined not to be overly concerned with the furniture of heaven and the temperature of hell. All I know is that hell is a place without God, and I don't want that. What I know about heaven is that it’s a timeless place where we’ll have a full experience of God and all His goodness.

I don't think we’ll be sitting on clouds strumming harps. But I also don't think we'll be playing golf on the perfect 18-hole golf course. As a member of the clergy I often hear comments at funerals that the loved one is now in heaven participating in a favorite earthly activity like golf, fishing or bowling. I have a strong suspicion that when we actually get to heaven and experience the awesome presence of God and have revealed for us His eternal plan, par, fishbait or strikes will be the last things on our minds. What God has planned for us is way beyond our best and wildest dreams.

The muffled sound of chirping chicks in the incubator is a reminder that I need to prepare a brooder box with a hanging light for them. I haven't received a letter from you for a couple of weeks, so I hope you write soon.

A fellow seeker after truth,
Dave