What Does Heaven Mean To Me Research Paper
What does heaven mean to me?
For one thing, heaven is the ultimate goal and realization of the deepest human desires. Heaven is also hard to put into words. It contains that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived (1 Cor. 2:9). Earth is the only frame of reference we have this side of eternity. If we cannot understand heaven in terms of earth then we cannot understand it at all. It is not surprising, then, that we would try to imagine heaven in earthly terms. Therefore, in seeking to answer such “thought provoking” question, I am also aware of the fact that while I may use earthly images, whether physical, spiritual or psychological to describe heaven like the two points highlighted below, yet none of them comprehensively …show more content…
describes such reality.
a.
To me, heaven means in ordinary human language - love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. In the Christian Tradition, they are referred to as the “fruits of the Spirit” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5: 22-23). Each one of us have experienced and expressed the fruits of the Spirit in different ways on earth. The fruit of the Spirit well lived is heaven on earth.
b. Heaven for me also means that “state of being.” Those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ. They will see God face to face as he really is. In other words, it is the state of supreme and definitive …show more content…
happiness.
The fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – Galatians 5: 22-23)
By the mere fact that I am loved by God and have been called his child is heaven on earth. Such a love has been lavished upon me to the extent that I sometimes take that love for granted. Holy Scripture reminds us “to think of the love the Father has lavished upon us by letting us be called his children, but what we are to become in the future has not yet been revealed….all we know it we shall be like him as he really is…” (1 Jn 3: 1-3) Such great a love that has been poured on me also challenges me to express it in ways that are life-giving. For example, by living a life overflowing with kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience and goodness, heaven becomes a reality right here and now. When I am on the side of justice and peace, all for the common good, heaven becomes a reality here and now. In fact, the Word of
God tells us: How can we love God whom we do not see, if we do not love our brother and sister whom we see? (1 Jn 4: 20) In other words, to love God is to also love our neighbors. When I can make this a reality in my life here and now, then heaven is within me.
My second explanation of what heaven means to me is largely influenced by my faith within the Christian tradition.
I firmly believe in faith that “those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ” (Alfred, 104). They will, no doubt, see God face to face. This for me is meeting heaven face to face. It is the state of supreme and definitive happiness with God. In fact, Holy Scripture and the teaching of my faith tradition emphasizes a call to personal responsibility by which we use our freedom, aided by divine grace, to affect our eternal destiny. And so, there must always be that urgent call within my heart to conversion and repentance. I also believe that God predestines no one to
hell.
Bibliography
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/october-web-only/why-its-easy-to-imagine-heaven-doesnt-exist.html : John Koessler: Retrieved on Tuesday 2nd April, 2013 “Why It 's Hard to Imagine that He aven Is Real”
Christian Community Bible
McBride, Alfred. Essentials of the Faith: A Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1994) USA, Indianna, Our Sunday Visitor publishing Division
For one thing, heaven is the ultimate goal and realization of the deepest human desires. Heaven is also hard to put into words. It contains that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived (1 Cor. 2:9). Earth is the only frame of reference we have this side of eternity. If we cannot understand heaven in terms of earth then we cannot understand it at all. It is not surprising, then, that we would try to imagine heaven in earthly terms. Therefore, in seeking to answer such “thought provoking” question, I am also aware of the fact that while I may use earthly images, whether physical, spiritual or psychological to describe heaven like the two points highlighted below, yet none of them comprehensively …show more content…
describes such reality.
a.
To me, heaven means in ordinary human language - love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. In the Christian Tradition, they are referred to as the “fruits of the Spirit” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5: 22-23). Each one of us have experienced and expressed the fruits of the Spirit in different ways on earth. The fruit of the Spirit well lived is heaven on earth.
b. Heaven for me also means that “state of being.” Those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ. They will see God face to face as he really is. In other words, it is the state of supreme and definitive …show more content…
happiness.
The fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control – Galatians 5: 22-23)
By the mere fact that I am loved by God and have been called his child is heaven on earth. Such a love has been lavished upon me to the extent that I sometimes take that love for granted. Holy Scripture reminds us “to think of the love the Father has lavished upon us by letting us be called his children, but what we are to become in the future has not yet been revealed….all we know it we shall be like him as he really is…” (1 Jn 3: 1-3) Such great a love that has been poured on me also challenges me to express it in ways that are life-giving. For example, by living a life overflowing with kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, patience and goodness, heaven becomes a reality right here and now. When I am on the side of justice and peace, all for the common good, heaven becomes a reality here and now. In fact, the Word of
God tells us: How can we love God whom we do not see, if we do not love our brother and sister whom we see? (1 Jn 4: 20) In other words, to love God is to also love our neighbors. When I can make this a reality in my life here and now, then heaven is within me.
My second explanation of what heaven means to me is largely influenced by my faith within the Christian tradition.
I firmly believe in faith that “those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ” (Alfred, 104). They will, no doubt, see God face to face. This for me is meeting heaven face to face. It is the state of supreme and definitive happiness with God. In fact, Holy Scripture and the teaching of my faith tradition emphasizes a call to personal responsibility by which we use our freedom, aided by divine grace, to affect our eternal destiny. And so, there must always be that urgent call within my heart to conversion and repentance. I also believe that God predestines no one to
hell.
Bibliography
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/october-web-only/why-its-easy-to-imagine-heaven-doesnt-exist.html : John Koessler: Retrieved on Tuesday 2nd April, 2013 “Why It 's Hard to Imagine that He aven Is Real”
Christian Community Bible
McBride, Alfred. Essentials of the Faith: A Guide to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1994) USA, Indianna, Our Sunday Visitor publishing Division