Heaven

‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced even if one should rise from the dead.’

The story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16, tells us something about the next life.  When we die, I doubt very much that God is going to accept us or reject us, so much as we will be the ones accepting God’s offer of eternal life, or rejecting it.

However, when we come face to face with our God at the end of our life, if we have lived this life according to the will and the ways of Almighty God, if we have followed His commandments and reached out to those in need, then what we see when we get to heaven will be something we will definitely want to experience for all eternity.

But, if we have lived our life in opposition to the teachings of God, if we have been selfish and self-centered, if everything has revolved around us, then we will not see anything when we get to heaven that will make us want to be there forever.  And we will choose to spend eternity in the absence of God.  There wont be anything spectacular at the pearly gates that will wow us into changing our minds if we have not lived this life for God and for one another.

May we use this holy season wisely, making sure we are being attentive to the needs of those in the world around us, offering the gifts and talents we have been given to assist our brothers and sisters.   For it will only be in so doing that we will draw ever closer to eternal life in the Father’s Kingdom of true and lasting peace.