Visions of Heaven and Hell

   I simply do not know with any certainty what heaven or hell will be like.  There is the assurance that heaven will be incredibly wonderful, and hell will be indescribably horrible but there is no real definition of what that means.  So I am left to prayerfully consider in my own mind what may await me.

   I do not believe that heaven is an actual place but a presence, the eternal presence of God in the perfection of His love.  I think of hell as the opposite, the absence of God and all that is good.  Those are merely my thoughts and I’m sure there is a lot more to know, but not in this life.

   I recently read an interesting way of expressing the difference between heaven and hell.  In the far east there is a traditional image that says that in hell the chopsticks are one yard long so they can’t possibly reach their mouth.  In heaven the chopsticks are also one yard long, but in heaven the people feed one another.  This says to me that, if I want to reach heaven, I must help others in this life as well.

   I will continue to contemplate heaven and hell because reaching heaven, God’s presence and reunion with my wife, is my greatest desire.  But I can’t help but think that heaven will be a bit different for each of us.  It is a place of perfect light and happiness and happiness may be in some ways unique for each of us.  I will have to wait to find out, but in the meantime I’ll do all in my power to get there, relying on God’s help for the journey.

Lord, I don’t know what heaven brings.

The joy that awaits is greater than I can know.

I place myself in Your will.

Lead me to my heavenly home.

Amen