When I anticipate my first glimpse of Heaven, I think of the first time I went snorkeling. It was absolutely breathtaking. There were thousands of fish of every shape and size and color, and just when you think you’ve seen the most beautiful creation, here comes another one. It’s endless.
I remember after days of snorkeling walking way out and jumping off the rocks into water that was sixty feet deep. The water was so clear I had the sensation of falling, and I could see fish and shells on the bottom as if just a few inches away. For most of my life I had seldom thought about another world under the water. But I fell in love with that other world, and often find myself thinking about it even now.
The most breathtaking experiences of my life have been while diving or snorkeling. In forty-five years of trips to oceans, I have seen cumulatively thousands of sea turtles and tens of thousands of breathtakingly beautiful fish. I have spent hours with stingrays, sharks, and manta rays (Nanci and I once swam with twelve of them!).
It’s exhilarating, even worshipful, to be immersed in a God-made world normally beyond our reach. Years ago, while snorkeling in deep water with one of my daughters and some friends, we suddenly heard the melodic sounds of whales. We floated nearly motionless as the sounds grew louder and louder, until we could hear nothing else. We found ourselves absorbed in a musical beauty and power that defied words. Time stood still and I felt indescribably close to God during that experience of otherworldly wonder. Ever since, I have regarded it as a foretaste of the New Earth.
Check out this video recorded by a diver off of Maui, which includes whales singing and fish chirping, whistling, and seemingly even purring at times. (Yes, fish make noise! In fact, scientists know that the noise level of its wildlife indicates whether a coral reef is healthy or not.)
I have often heard whales sing, sometimes continuously throughout three hours of snorkeling. It’s easy to hear when you are a diver and you’re down low, but snorkelers need to dive down into the water to hear it loud—though I’ve heard it very loud at just six or seven feet under the surface. It is incredibly beautiful and a reminder that as much as I love the idea of exploring other galaxies in the new heavens when God creates the New Earth, meanwhile here on the old earth we already have the ocean and its marvelous creatures to enjoy!
