Tonight during a discussion of missions and service, I heard a common phrase emerge. That phrase went something like this: “Our ultimate goal as Christians is to go to heaven.”
If you conduct a Google Image search for the term “heaven” you’ll immediately see pics of golden gates, clouds breaking, rainbows, frilly walkways into the sky, and the cute narrative image by David Armano posted above. Ah heaven, the beautiful dwelling place of our Father. Yes, golden gates, majestic clouds, angels playing harps… is this what we’re to expect on the other side? I’d like to think that the Halls of God are too astronomically awesome for my mind to comprehend, full of colors my eyes have never seen and sounds my ears have never descried. I’d like to imagine it’s triumphantly loud with the cacophony of trumpets and angel choirs singing, but the truth is no living being knows what heaven will hold. Which brings me back to my first point, “Our ultimate goal as Christians is to go to heaven.”
First, I must note that I’m not disagreeing or discrediting the opinions of my peers. I’m willing to admit that I could under-informed on the subject and may be stepping outside my bounds.
But, if the ultimate reason I’m here on earth is to someday make it to heaven, I guess I fail to see the point. It feels like a Neoplatonic (love that word) concept which sounds nice and peachy as our souls ascend from this painful world into a bold, bright new yonder, but I’m not even sure where/if the bible mentions this. At least I’ve yet to find mention of this in the teachings of Jesus. It seems that Jesus’ focus is on something different - seeing the Kingdom of God become full here on earth. And he seems to be fond of doing so through service. However, if you conduct a Google Image search for “service”, you’ll won’t be swept away by pictures of Christian Soldiers marching onward. Instead, you’ll immediately see a seeing eye dog, customer service advertisement, and a few peculiar street signs. Although, I have to admit that I could see Jesus hanging out on Service Street.
Mark 10:45 - “For the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give is life as a ransom for many.” (Red letters)
Through my experiences, I’ve formed the belief that Christianity is lifestyle more-so than a religion. And through this lifestyle, I am to live my life by practicing the teachings of Christ -love, service, missions good will, etc. Yes, I will certainly fall short, but herein lies the beauty of being a Christian. Through all my shortcomings, my father still loves me and offers unfathomable forgiveness. By embodying the teachings of Christ in our lifestyles, we are helping to advance the cause of God’s Kingdom coming fully on earth, which to me, is the definition of that ultimate goal.
Sure, the idea of going to heaven when my time on earth is done sounds fantastic, but the truth is that I really don’t know what happens after death. All I can do is live my life to the best of my ability and work with the things that are within my control. From personal experience, if you handle the little things, the big things will handle themselves.
