Okay, been over a month. Way too long between posts, but I'll be honest, I haven't had a whole lot of motivation to write the next post in this series that I'm doing on heaven and hell. I suffer from a bit of indifference on the subject. I hate to put that in the beginning of this post, and I'm betting that I won't get many responses to this one. However, I need to be honest. After all, this is my confessional.
Heaven is another one of those subjects in scripture filled with metaphor, allegory, symbolism.. and it's very difficult to know what is, and what isn't. So streets of gold, crowns, mansions, no tears, no pain/suffering.. these are the carrots that get dangled in front of us as if somehow we are to be motivated by these things. I'm not sure about you, but I could care less about a crown, a mansion, or what the surface is that I'm walking upon. If these things are supposed to be motivators for Christians, we would all be called materialists. So why is this stuff used to describe heaven and eternity with God? Are they supposed to be motivators? I don't think so. In the same way that the language of hell is only an metaphorical picture that is trying to convey a suffering or a place that can't be described by our limited vocabulary, so it is with heaven.
I'll be honest, I do not know whether or not my opinions on heaven or hell is remotely accurate. It isn't the point. But I do know that just as the language of hell and how it translates to "reality" is unknown to me, the same thing is true for me with heaven.
I get reminded often about how limited our understanding is and our ability to reason or "know" things like the problem of evil, predestination/free will, limits of omipotence, omniscience, omni-whatevernece, and yet somehow this isn't true with heaven and hell. We can know... it's clear as day... right? I don't think so. If we truly are limited in our ability to know God in one area, shouldn't it follow we are limited to know God in all areas? Where does that leave us? Ambiguity, anarchy, subjectivism? No... and yes.
More on this in my next post. Stay tuned.... It won't be as long as the time between my last post and this one.
4 comments:
i think phil, the major difference between you, those like you (you know...smirt people :O), and the majority of believers is that most believers in christ "choose" to just believe that yes, there is a hell, one of pain, suffering, and darkness, and yes there is a heaven, one of golden streets, mansions, and crowns. whether metaphorical or not, i think the point is that description of heaven gives people hope. i don't think that even if it is "dangled" before us, that it is the reason people choose christ. they choose him because their lives have no purpose and they are hurting...desperately needing divine intervention. living in a world with soooo much pain and disappointment, having heaven and it's physical and spiritual rewards is a pinacle of hope. and if we don't have hope, what do we have? wishing for those things that are described in heaven does not make us materialistic. more like optimistic. that some day we will have the inheritance god set out for us in the beginning. picking it a part and questioning the "literality" of heaven just makes one more uncertain thing to add to the list of uncertain disappointing things we face daily. hell on the other hand, trusting that it is as the bible describes, can motivate us to want to keep our friends and family away from it. hopefully stirring a sense of urgency and giving those we care for the hope of heaven is a great comparable.
so, to sum it up i choose to believe in that which i read in the bible cause yes, it produces hope and there is nothing more pinacle to the faith than hope. truthfully, for me, it's not the hope of heaven and all that it will provide that entices me (and probably majority of true believers)....the point is that heaven is the dwelling place of jesus who IS the ultimate enticement and the ultimate crown that i'll be rewarded. to sit in his presence is what i long for more than anything. being seperated from that for all eternity would be enough hell for me.
oh and btw...keep em coming. i love to dialogue and i appreciate your honesty.
love you
Hey Phil,
Thanks for the thoughtful post. The subject of Heaven and the Bible frustrates me. I guess this is one of the areas where I wish we had so many more details. I want to know EXACTLY how it going to be and want to be able to comprehend it fully. Mostly I just want to know about my loved ones who have passed, what they comprehend about my current life and what they are doing.
But one thing that I keep thinking is that not knowing all of the details of the afterlife forces me to focus more on my daily life. It is great to look forward to Heaven, but I think we need to be living for today. And don't confuse that with "wild living". If today were my last day on Earth, I would do everything I could to spend the last moments with my loved ones. I would cherish every moment. And that is how I want to live.
In life we do this weird thing where we constantly focus on the past or the future. We have a hard time just being in the moment and living the best we can for today. And sometimes I wonder if the more you focus on Heaven and the future that you might be cheating yourself of this experience. Yes there is pain in the here and now, but there is also incredible beauty and blessing. If we spend too much time looking to the future, I think we're completely missing the lesson of this lifetime. That in the middle of pain there is always a sunrise, always a beautiful reminder of love.
And I guess I disagree with Sparky a little bit. (respectfully of course ;) ) This life is beautiful and wonderful on its own. And the pain always follows with blessing, love, peace, and protection. I'm living this life like it is all I have. I'm giving this life everything I've got and trying to daily appreciate the moment rather than spending my time looking toward a future that is a little vague and not exactly comprehendible by this brain.
When Heaven comes, I hope to be ready and will have felt like I was a good steward with the days that God gave me. Heaven is icing on the cake. This life is a blessing and the vagueness of the Bible on the subject of Heaven just reaffirms to me where my focus should be.
These are both great comments. Thank you sparky and candace. I can understand both perspectives and I think that is the major difference between your views. Perspective. Depending on your place in life and the environment you find yourself in, will determine the lens from which you see the world. If things are tough or if you're in a season of trial, the world is colored with pain, sorrow, difficulty. If things are going well in life and you're surrounded with happiness, fulfillment, contentment, then your perspective on life will be seen through that lens.
Neither are wrong, just different. So to both of your comments I would say I have to agree with the majority of what said. Cheesy, i know, but it's where i'm at.
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