We have a local free paper that arrives at our house once a week. This week, there is an article about our church purchasing some property. Here is the first paragraph of that article:
"No one around claims first hand knowledge of what heaven is like. Educated guesses are about as good as it gets before the observer actually makes it past the pearly gates. The most widely held guess is that it is a peaceful, dignified place where those who followed all the right rules stroll golden avenues in quiet wonder."
There are a couple things in this paragraph that strike me as not quite accurate. Before giving more of my opinion, though, I would like to get a few opinions and first impressions from those of you who read this blog.
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8 comments:
I don't know about everyone else, but an eternity of peaceful strolling sounds really boring.
I wonder if the author really thinks there are "rules to follow" or if he is just taking poetic license.
The tone of the article seems a little casual -- as though the author wasn't really trying to reflect any actual Christian views, just vague culturally Christian impressions. Getting to heaven isn't about something as simple as following a set of rules or being a goody two shoes. There's nothing we can do to "earn" life in heaven. Eternal life is a gift from God given to those whom he has redeemed. Our response to God's forgiveness is gratitude and a desire to please him, which may involve doing certain things and not doing certain things. Because of God's grace, our actions or works don't have any value toward saving us; they reflect how our hearts think about God. If that was a rant, I 'pologize. You caught me at 6 in the morning. :-)
B T W, how did that opener ever tie into the note about the property?
I'm still waiting to see if I get any more comments before giving my opinion...but I thought I would answer Elizabeth's question: He went on to say that our former pastor (who died coming up on two years ago) was probably breaking the silence in Heaven because he was so excited about the church purchasing the property.
Honestly, my first impression was just, "how dumb."
Of course no one claims "first hand" knowledge of heaven...have you met a sane person who does? Does the author think it's a museum where the "observers" can stroll in and out ("in quiet wonder")when they are in the neighborhood?
I agree with Liz - a casually vague impression of how our culture views heaven.
Ok...I'm finally getting back to add a few of my thoughts on this. First, I know that we don't have first hand knowledge of Heaven, but neither do we just have to only make educated guesses. We do have some insight in the Bible.
Second, the people in heaven aren't going to be there because they "followed all the right rules." They'll be there because they believed that they were imperfect and that Jesus died so that they could have fellowship with a perfect God.
Third...that fellowship. I don't think we'll be walking around all boring-like. I think we'll be having lots of fun. I think we'll be worshiping God...that's definitely Biblical. I don't know that we'll only be hanging out at God's feet worshiping all the time...I think there's more to Heaven that that.
So...those are my thoughts in response to this article.
I think I'm going to start posting more things along these lines. I often find things that I question just in reading the Bible or in a sermon...so maybe this is a good place for getting the input of others!
Hey - I've been waiting (patiently) for Nathan's update....are you going to make us wait until December...? ;)
I know...I know...I've sat down thinking I was going to do it and got distracted by other things like paying bills and Christmas shopping online. I'll try real hard to do it in the next day or two!
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