When I was a small child I asked my Grandmother this question. If heaven is such a wonderful place why doesn’t anyone want to go there ? At least when they are still alive, they don’t ? Every time I ask someone I get the same answer. After I die, I hope to.
Well, Grandma told me this. That’s because God put you on earth for a reason. You can’t go to heaven until you do what God wants. Then you die and God takes you up to heaven. Why, I said. Because God is the boss and he said so. That was all the answer I needed back then. That was back in the day when ” because ” was also a valid answer. Grandma said God was the boss and everyone I knew agreed with that. So that is that.
That conversation took place well over fifty years ago. God was a lot more powerful back then. When I was young we always heard about the wrath of God. He wasn’t anybody you wanted to mess with. Just about anything you did wrong was God getting back at you. If something bad happened to you or anyone you knew, it was Gods’ fault. If you had done right, that wouldn’t have happened. The bottom line was, you’re not doing what God put you on earth to do. It was very frustrating because God works in mysterious ways. I knew that because that was what I was always told for an explanation. Why did this happen ? I went to church and said my prayers at night. Well, God works in mysterious ways. End of discussion.
I think God has mellowed somewhat over the years. I don’t hear as much about hellfire and damnation as I used to. A lot of the time they are playing guitars and singing Christian rock at his house. Forgiveness is stressed more than punishment. The approach is a lot more laid back in my estimation. A little less formal. A sign of the times. Informality is stressed more than formality.
After all these years I still believe Grandma was right. God did put us on this earth for a reason. When our mission is complete,heaven is the reward. Man does have a penchant for messing things up. We always try to improve everything. Some things should just be left alone. If we all could just concentrate on doing the right thing how much better off would humanity be ? But God has given us free will, he sure does work in mysterious ways !