The song “Heaven Holds All to Me” was written by Tillit Sidney Teddlie (1885-1987), a native of Swan, TX. He was baptized into Christ by A.M. Shelton at Golden, Texas in August of 1903, and he composed the song in 1912 on an envelope with a pencil stub, both of which he carried in his helper’s overalls while sitting under a hickory tree on his farm near Golden, north of Tyler, Texas. The Gospel Advocate Company copyrighted the song in 1932. It is probably brother Teddlie’s best-known Gospel song. During his lifetime, Teddlie was not only a songwriter and hymnbook publisher, but also he was a Gospel preacher for the churches of Christ.
The Place
“Heaven.” Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people (John 14:2). A little girl was taking an evening walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed, “Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the right side be!”
The Principle
“Holds.” We speak of people, places and things that hold our attention. Heaven is the desire of all God’s people, or the desire that all God’s people should have. “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly” (Hebrews11:16a). Living by faith is much easier when we remember that this world is not our home. Our desire for heaven describes a strong longing. Going to heaven means Christians are finally with their Lord.
The Parameter
“All.” The desire for heaven is boundless and ever expanding. “All”describes the scope of desire for heaven. Paul spoke of his “desire to depart and to be with Christ; which is far better” (Philippians 1:23). The desire for heaven should engulf and overwhelm every part of our Christian lives.
The Person
“Me.” The desire to go to heaven is personal. “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world” (C.S. Lewis. Mere Christianity. New York, Macmillan, 1960, 119).
As a Christian, I can have blessed hope because Jesus died for me, rose again and ascended to heaven. Since Jesus is there waiting to come again and bring His people home, “Heaven Holds All To Me.”
