Warm, balmy Sunday. Felt a bit more springlike than smack dab fall. Cincinnati is a fickle friend. The moment you put away your summer shoes and pull out the boots, the day calls for cuffed jeans, sockless and ballet flats.
Church. The current series is: “Heaven, Hell and Here.” Interesting title. I have certainly had moments that I was certain “here” was heaven and then moments that I was quite sure “here” was pure hell.
For any of us who have grown up around church, we know that salvation is a gift of grace, given from a Father’s loving heart. We also believe there is a life after this one. How sweet is that knowledge. What we have never been completely sure about is exactly how we get there. Oh, we know HOW we get there. We leave these broken, human shells and get a new body (yay)!
But there is not total clarity about what it takes to get there. How many points do we need? How much money do I need to give to the United Way? What is the magic number of shoeboxes I need to fill for Franklin Graham?
The answer is zero. This is not your cheeseburger frequent buyer card. We cannot do enough good things to punch our cards to a free entrance to heaven.
Many, many times through the years I heard this: “It is not about works.”
God looks at the motives of the heart, not what we do or give or build or sacrifice.
So, the pastor affirmed the “not about works” belief but…he said that what we do HERE matters in eternity. It matters.
If we are honest, we question a god who would allow Mother Teresa and the Boston Strangler into the same heaven, that is, if on his deathbed the BS accepted Christ in his last breath. But that is the God in which we say we believe.
From what I discerned, the pastor feels that scripture may have something to say about the rewards given to MT vs. BS.
A friend of mine was upset after church. She expressed bewilderment about having “levels” in our forever homes. In her words: “Do I have to be middle class in heaven, too?”
Hmm…I certainly do not have the answers. One of the hills I die on is that I know that I know that I know that my Father does not want me to worry and fret about such things. Easier said than done. But that fact is one upon which we can hang our hats.
The rest of the mysteries, I do not know. But I welcome and love the discussion and the search. Say you will join me in that. Leave me a message. It may give you an extra punch on your get into heaven reward card.