Growing up in the 80s, one of my favorite TV shows was Highway to Heaven starring Michael Landon and Victor French. If you don’t know the show, Michael Landon plays Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth to help people in a time of need. Victor French, who is still alive and is a tad cynical, is Mark Gordon, an ex-cop helping Jonathan on his mission to serve. It was a great show that we watched as a family. This show is one of my favorite memories growing up.
Why am I talking about a TV show from the 80s? Well, I’ll tell you. Recently a production company has purchased the rights to show, and they are releasing the seasons on DVD. The shows are unedited and exactly like they were in the 80s. So far, Season 1 and Season 2 are the only seasons available, but I own both. I will include links to the DVDs on Amazon.com at the end of the post.
I just told half of the reason why I’m writing about Highway to Heaven. Getting the shows and watching them has reminded why I loved the show so much in the first place, and now as an adult, I can describe why I connected with it. Back then and especially at this time in my life, God in the show is exactly the deity that I have always believed he or she was and is. A lot of the time, Jonathan was always being sent to help people who were and are still considered to be outsiders in the main-stream realm of Christianity. Sure the show can be hokey sometimes, but it presents a very loving and fun God that truly cares for us.
One scene, that has recently stuck in mind and heart and even changed my outlook on a couple of situations in the last month or so, has Jonathan and Mark in a bar. The bar is filled with some bad guys, which you know this because you have already witnessed them murdering someone in the opening minutes of the episode. Mark and Jonathan are sitting at the bar, and since they are out-of-towners asking questions, the bad guys try to pick a fight. In many episodes, Jonathan, being an angel, has heavenly powers, or “the stuff” as Mark calls. In the attempt to anger Mark and cause a fight, one of the guys pours Mark’s beer out on his food.
That was the tipping point, and Mark gets angry and wants to fight the entire bar, well, because Jonathan has “the stuff,” so it would be an easy fight. But Jonathan refuses to help because at that particular time, he states he doesn’t have “the stuff.” Mark questions why?
Okay, we have gone through two paragraphs for Jonathan’s answer. Drum roll please… He says because God doesn’t care about a spilt beer, so if God doesn’t care about the beer, neither should Mark.
Boom! That is a God that doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
Since seeing that scene, I have been trying to emulate that control and logic. When someone cuts me off in traffic? Does it really matter in the grand TV show that is our lives? Does it matter that the car won’t start? Does it matter that you stubbed your toe on the furniture? No. Life will go on. God will still be watching over us, and if we don’t win the lottery, get that raise, get asked out by that cute guy, or our favorite football team has lost four in a row.
GOD STILL LOVES US AND IS VERY MUCH A PART OF OUR LIFES.
We just have to have faith that he knows the details and takes care of the ones that matter. I have that faith. I’m asking you to try it. Don’t worry about the little details, and you might find that your day is a lot less stressful. And while you’re at it, watch some Highway to Heaven because, for me, the show does a great job showing how much God loves us and wants to be involved in our lives.
I love you.
Wade Miller
Compiling God's Code 
I remember that show, but didn’t watch it that much. Sounds like it would be good if the central message is that God loves.
I loved it then and still do because it wasn’t based religion. It was just God helping people in need.
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