Heaven
Heaven
I’ve been thinking about Heaven lately.
No, not because death is knocking at my door.
Actually, what prompted it was reading some articles about people trying to get small businesses or their musical careers off the ground.
These folks are doing everything they can to make their businesses or careers successful – with such goals as wealth, independence, and stardom.
They work long hours.
They prioritize their activities and spending, eliminating those things they don’t really need to do and the things they don’t need to spend money on.
They study and read.
They practice, and critique themselves, and try to improve.
And they are passionate about what they do and their goals. They are driven.
That’s when I thought of heaven.
It is the ultimate goal, the ultimate success.
It is where we can have the “unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4).
Yet am I passionate about getting there – and doing everything I need to do about getting there?
Am I working and studying and trying to improve?
Am I prioritizing my time and gifts?
Or am I just coasting in a comfortable Catholicism that assumes that if I don’t do anything particularly bad, I’ll be okay?
Do I act as if I really believe there is a Heaven?
I think of people who are passionate about faith, who are striving for that heavenly goal.
They are saints – recognized and unrecognized. They are passionate. They are driven.
They make the rest of us uncomfortable.
Because we sense deep inside that is what we are supposed to be like.
We should all be living our lives with passionate intensity, with our eyes on that ultimate goal.
Heaven.
I’ve been thinking about Heaven lately.
No, not because death is knocking at my door.
Actually, what prompted it was reading some articles about people trying to get small businesses or their musical careers off the ground.
These folks are doing everything they can to make their businesses or careers successful – with such goals as wealth, independence, and stardom.
They work long hours.
They prioritize their activities and spending, eliminating those things they don’t really need to do and the things they don’t need to spend money on.
They study and read.
They practice, and critique themselves, and try to improve.
And they are passionate about what they do and their goals. They are driven.
That’s when I thought of heaven.
It is the ultimate goal, the ultimate success.
It is where we can have the “unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4).
Yet am I passionate about getting there – and doing everything I need to do about getting there?
Am I working and studying and trying to improve?
Am I prioritizing my time and gifts?
Or am I just coasting in a comfortable Catholicism that assumes that if I don’t do anything particularly bad, I’ll be okay?
Do I act as if I really believe there is a Heaven?
I think of people who are passionate about faith, who are striving for that heavenly goal.
They are saints – recognized and unrecognized. They are passionate. They are driven.
They make the rest of us uncomfortable.
Because we sense deep inside that is what we are supposed to be like.
We should all be living our lives with passionate intensity, with our eyes on that ultimate goal.
Heaven.
posted by A Secular Franciscan | 6:00 PM
2 Comments:
I am not sure whether I think there is a heaven or a God. But I can identify with putting a lot of energy into some things. Last year I took a biology paper at university, 30 years after I first did a little study of the subject. My brain seemed slower and I had to work hard at the paper, but I absolutely loved what I learned. I imagine if there is a God, God would be pleased to see me using my life in such a passionate way.
I have not been much of a churchgoer for many years, and if I do go, I tend to stick in the back pews. Never did quite feel part of it. Recently discovered when I got glasses that being able to see what is going on properly is a great help towards a sense of belonging, even at the back!
good post... keep fighting the RIGHT fight!
tomo
http://thetomoreport.blogspot.com
http://thetomoreport.tumblr.com
Post a Comment
<< Home