Imagine you've died and gone to Heaven.
Joy of joys !!! At last, you've made it. God has seen it fit for you to deserve Heaven. An eternity with Him. You are so glad, more than you've ever been your entire life.
You look around and meet old friends and relatives who have made it here too. You greet them with a tear in your eye - a tear of joy as well as a little sadness when you remember how you missed them and cried when they were gone!
You renew old acquaintances as well as make new ones as you meet the Saints you've read so much about but had never met.
Then you realise someone is missing.
A relative, or friend, whom you'd expected to see
here is missing. You ask St Peter and he confirms your suspicion. That
person is not here.
Is he in transit? In the Purification Center we call Purgatory, perhaps?
No ... he is ... in the other place.
Your joy turns to sadness, confusion, despair even.
How can it be? You so expected to be with that person in Heaven for
eternity.
What do you do?
Seek an explanation from God? Perhaps there's been a
mistake! Ask Him to re-consider. Plead with Him even? Beg that this
person is brought up to Heaven?
Has that person's absence tarnished your joy of being in Heaven? Changed your view of God's justice and mercy?
How can you possibly be here in Heaven for ever,
knowing full well that a dear loved one is in the other place and will
never join you?
On the Cross Jesus forgave those who dared to inflict so much suffering and death to the Son of God. What more heinous sin could your relative or friend have committed to deserve an eternity in hell? If God forgave those who killed His Son; and they probably didn't ask
for forgiveness, why can't He forgive your relative or friend missing
right now?
Your human sense of justice; and your understanding
and perspective of forgiveness and mercy would like things to be
different and, no matter what that person has done in life, you wish him
here with you in Heaven.
But God does not work like that. His perspective is not a human perspective. He decided otherwise.
In Luke 16:19-31 we read that the rich man in "the other place" pleaded
that his brothers may not join him there. But his pleadings were met
with the response that each person makes his or her own decisions in
life, and by their actions they choose whether to go to Heaven or not.
No one goes to hell by mistake. We choose to go there. And many, by their actions, are sleep-walking their way to hell.
The time for action and prayers is now.
And yet ... what if we're one day in Heaven and our loved one is not there? What then?
The time for action and prayers is now.
And yet ... what if we're one day in Heaven and our loved one is not there? What then?
Thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteGod bless.
I often wish we could pray someone out of hell. Yes, I agree with you, Victor, that the time for action and prayer is now. Thank you for the important reminder.
ReplyDeleteIt is a heart-breaking thought, Chris, to be in Heaven yet missing a loved one.
DeleteGod bless you.
Or what if we are the one that is not in Heaven and loved ones are missing us? Time to take inventory!!
ReplyDeleteVery good point, Terri. Very good point.
DeleteGod bless you.
I'll meet you there, my friend ...
ReplyDeleteAmen Linda.
DeleteGod bless.
I don't even want to imagine such a thing. Your phrase, "sleep-walking their way to Hell" certainly made this reader sit up a little straighter. Certainly, an audit is in order.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words about my writing, Mevely. I sometimes wonder whether I come on too strong.
DeleteGod bless you my friend.
Definitely something to give thought to.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed Bill. A worrying thought.
DeleteGod bless you always.
Horrifying thought.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, though, we cannot make a choice on behalf of someone else. It is theirs alone.
You are right, Sandi. But one cannot help feeling some regret/pain that a loved one is not there with you in Heaven.
DeleteGod bless you, Sandi.
That is why we need to explain the Gospel to people now and pray they will listen.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that there are going to be people in heaven that we never expected to see and others that we thought would be there.
Will be seeing you there. : )
Indeed, I hope we meet in Heaven. Bring all your pennies with you, Happyone.
DeleteGod bless you always.
Oh, how we need to begin, and continue, praying for those loved ones now! There are so many I hope to see once I get to Heaven, Victor, and it breaks my heart to think that God leaves anyone out in the end. Perhaps Purgatory does the deed? So much that we can't know here on earth, but must have faith and trust that God is working everything to His purpose.
ReplyDeleteAn important aside: Needing extra prayers here at the Orlando home. I'll send you more info privately when I get the chance.
Blessings!
I am praying for you and your whole family right now, Martha.
DeleteMay the Lord bless you and be with you at this difficult time.
God bless.
Hmmm...I think part of Heaven would be with those you love, and I could not love someone if God could not love them, pretty sure God is more forgiving than I am. I think Heaven is a concept that can not truly be contemplated by the human mind.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Heaven is a concept that we cannot contemplate, and that God is more loving and forgiving than us. However, there are those who do not accept, or believe in His love or even in His existence. It is they who shut themselves out of Heaven.
DeleteGod bless you, JoeH.
I am sure the scriptures will disagree with me, but I think God's love will accept even those who do not believe, as long as they lead a life that pleases him.
DeleteI am pleased when my own children make me proud, I don't need their adoration.
You raise a very difficult point , Joeh. And I am glad that you do because it helps our discussion as we learn from one another.
DeleteJesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6
This implies that to go to Heaven one must accept Christ as the Son of God. There are many good people in this world who do not accept Christ as the Son of God. Are they excluded from Heaven?
I do not know. It is not for me to know. It is not my Heaven and the decision is neither mine nor anyone else's other than God.
However, having said that, there are many good people who not only do not accept Jesus as the Son of God; but they also do not believe in there being a God, nor the fact that there is a Heaven, hell or anything else. I knew such a person well. He was the kindest most generous person you could meet. But for some reason he just did not believe there is a supreme living Creator God.
There are those who go a step further and encourage others not to believe in God, in fact they ridicule the very belief of a living God.
Logically, one cannot expect such people, however good they are in life, (that may well please God as you say), to end up in a place they do not believe exist and meet a God they do not believe exists.
Where these "good" people end up, I do not know and it would be presumptuous of me to hazard a guess.
God bless you.
Regardless of what a person believes or professes, he can not hide his deeds or his heart from God. Existence of or entry to Heaven is not for us to decide.
DeleteI always say to atheists, "One thing you will never be able to say to me is 'I told you so', but I might say it to you"
Love your posts!
I really love what you say to atheists, JoeH. You really are unique.
DeleteGod bless you my friend.