Reference Passage:
Proverbs 20:21
An inheritance claimed too soon
will not be blessed at the end.
will not be blessed at the end.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Trade the corporate ladder for an elevator' reads an advertisement in the job search section of a popular daily newspaper. In one sense, the reader is being told that the way to the top needn't depend on the slow machinery of time. This is a true reflection of our hidden desire to race ahead and reach our targets, though we fail to think what we would do once we get there. Hence, in our haste, we have mistaken the gates of Hell for the portals of Paradise too many times.
Most forms of religion recognise Heaven as the destination of every believer's journey - the eternal inheritance of the pious. Definitions and guidelines vary from the sensual to the spiritual, but they bear certain common features that deserve serious thought for those who are trying to make it there. Quite interestingly, we perceive the joys of Heaven as the amplified versions of earthly pleasures. When talking of pearly gates and streets of gold, the naive tend to mentally picture some imperial suite at the Hotel Ritz, that would otherwise cost a fortune. For others, Paradise is where all the rules and conventions that long restrained them, suddenly disappear. Hence, what was considered taboo on earth, is readily available for the hallowed saints who managed to maintain their passions on a leash for a lifetime. It doesn't bother anybody that God would have to spectacularly contradict Himself to make this possible.
A full release from suffering is what many are expecting, although its still vague to them what brought suffering into human existence in the first place. Apparently, poverty would disappear since everything is free. Hunger would cease and hence by our own theories of criminal behaviour, crime would immediately become a non-entity. Most importantly, nobody needs to wake up anymore for work or school after fun weekends. Yipee! Who wouldn't want to go to a Heaven like that? And the faster, the better. Its not very surprisingly then, that in certain belief systems suicide bombing is marketed as a quick shortcut into Paradise. We assume that it makes no difference whether we reach there now or later.
At this point of our discussion, a troubling question begs our attention. What difference would God's presence or absence make to the Heaven where we're supposedly going? In other words, does it really matter if God hangs around as we step into eternal bliss? We almost make Heaven sound like an amusement park, that was designed to maximise our enjoyment. Now that everything is kept ready for our arrival, we prefer to throw God out of the house and lock the doors.
Our childish notions fail to see that Heaven lives up to its name only in the presence of the Creator and the fullest expression of His mind. For everything else, you have the earth! If its God's home that we're talking about, we must acknowledge that He reserves the right to filter visitors according to His tastes, as do we in our own homes. Wouldn't worldly-wise humans who barge into Heaven, simply repeat their hellish achievements from Planet Earth? A study of God's personality would give us an indication of how far apart our interests are from God's, and our homes from His. But we just don't have any time for this, do we?
Time was never meant to be our enemy, although we've made it one. Those who've discovered the imperfections of human nature know that every venture in life ends in a certain degree of incompleteness. This is why we keep telling ourselves that nobody is perfect. However, its liberating to know that beyond the boundaries of human effort, are the hands of God that bless and fulfil our endeavours in accordance with His Will. But here's the catch that Solomon the wise presents: simply rushing to the finish line will not guarantee a Divine blessing. Both the revelation of God's mind and the preparation of our hearts to follow His guidance, need time. The journey to Heaven will never really finish without these two time-consuming components finding their place in our lives.
I conclude by quoting the late preacher A. W. Tozer: "I have often wished that there were some way to bring modern Christians into a deeper spiritual life painlessly by short easy lessons; but such wishes are vain. No shortcut exists! God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him."
If the attractions of a place have bolstered our hopes of a Heavenly heritage in the past, may the new year bring us near to the person of God - which ultimately matters.
Most forms of religion recognise Heaven as the destination of every believer's journey - the eternal inheritance of the pious. Definitions and guidelines vary from the sensual to the spiritual, but they bear certain common features that deserve serious thought for those who are trying to make it there. Quite interestingly, we perceive the joys of Heaven as the amplified versions of earthly pleasures. When talking of pearly gates and streets of gold, the naive tend to mentally picture some imperial suite at the Hotel Ritz, that would otherwise cost a fortune. For others, Paradise is where all the rules and conventions that long restrained them, suddenly disappear. Hence, what was considered taboo on earth, is readily available for the hallowed saints who managed to maintain their passions on a leash for a lifetime. It doesn't bother anybody that God would have to spectacularly contradict Himself to make this possible.
A full release from suffering is what many are expecting, although its still vague to them what brought suffering into human existence in the first place. Apparently, poverty would disappear since everything is free. Hunger would cease and hence by our own theories of criminal behaviour, crime would immediately become a non-entity. Most importantly, nobody needs to wake up anymore for work or school after fun weekends. Yipee! Who wouldn't want to go to a Heaven like that? And the faster, the better. Its not very surprisingly then, that in certain belief systems suicide bombing is marketed as a quick shortcut into Paradise. We assume that it makes no difference whether we reach there now or later.
At this point of our discussion, a troubling question begs our attention. What difference would God's presence or absence make to the Heaven where we're supposedly going? In other words, does it really matter if God hangs around as we step into eternal bliss? We almost make Heaven sound like an amusement park, that was designed to maximise our enjoyment. Now that everything is kept ready for our arrival, we prefer to throw God out of the house and lock the doors.
Our childish notions fail to see that Heaven lives up to its name only in the presence of the Creator and the fullest expression of His mind. For everything else, you have the earth! If its God's home that we're talking about, we must acknowledge that He reserves the right to filter visitors according to His tastes, as do we in our own homes. Wouldn't worldly-wise humans who barge into Heaven, simply repeat their hellish achievements from Planet Earth? A study of God's personality would give us an indication of how far apart our interests are from God's, and our homes from His. But we just don't have any time for this, do we?
Time was never meant to be our enemy, although we've made it one. Those who've discovered the imperfections of human nature know that every venture in life ends in a certain degree of incompleteness. This is why we keep telling ourselves that nobody is perfect. However, its liberating to know that beyond the boundaries of human effort, are the hands of God that bless and fulfil our endeavours in accordance with His Will. But here's the catch that Solomon the wise presents: simply rushing to the finish line will not guarantee a Divine blessing. Both the revelation of God's mind and the preparation of our hearts to follow His guidance, need time. The journey to Heaven will never really finish without these two time-consuming components finding their place in our lives.
I conclude by quoting the late preacher A. W. Tozer: "I have often wished that there were some way to bring modern Christians into a deeper spiritual life painlessly by short easy lessons; but such wishes are vain. No shortcut exists! God has not bowed to our nervous haste nor embraced the methods of our machine age. It is well that we accept the hard truth now: the man who would know God must give time to Him."
If the attractions of a place have bolstered our hopes of a Heavenly heritage in the past, may the new year bring us near to the person of God - which ultimately matters.
