Our images and concepts of heaven play a very critical role in how to live our Christian faith as well as how effective we are as witnesses of the love and grace of God.
The parable of the prodigal son shows us that some of us may chose to leave heaven only to find ourselves in the hell of a hedonistic and materialistic lifestyle. On the other hand, some of us are living in the hell of a religious legalistic lifestyle even though we claim to worship God as our Heavenly Father.
Jesus came to seek the lost and to heal those who are sick. His sternest criticisms were directed towards the Pharisees who claim to know God but fail to do the will of God.
The good news is that Jesus came to show us that life is a life of love. We are the children of a loving Heavenly Father. The story of our lives and of our human history is the love story of God in creation.
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He taught them the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that reminds us that life is all about God’s Kingdom and His providence. At the same time, we need to recognize the importance of forgiveness and the reality of evil.
The Lord’s prayer encapsulates our mission to bring heaven on earth and share the wonderful message of God’s love for all mankind. When we pray, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Your name, we are to remember that our fellow human beings are God’s children.
In a book for children, God’s Dream, Bishop Desmond Tutu described God’s dream as being about people sharing and caring for one another. He made the point that each of us carries a piece of God’s heart within us – and when we love one another, the pieces of God’s heart are made whole.
Making God’s dream is simple – as easy as sharing, loving, caring, playing and laughing – when we see one another as all God’s children. But it is difficult if not impossible if we try to do so without dealing with our pride, prejudices, unforgiveness, and greed.
Our responsibility is simply to pay attention to what our Heavenly Father is saying to us each day in the people we meet and the circumstances we face each day. The good news from the psalmist is that our Heavenly Father watches over us when we put Him first in our lives. He rescues us from the death of lives of futility and provides us with we need even in times of scarcity. (Psalm 33:18-19)
Let us give the first place in our lives to God so that there will be space in our hearts for His amazing love.
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