Oh Death Where is Your Sting?

Been thinking on those words lately... Never really understood them before not that I "understand" them well even now but still just some thoughts in that direction.

Death, the ultimate punishment for the original disobedience...We were meant for life and then out of jealousy both on the part of the evil one and the first human female we were robbed of it. We were then destined for eternal death, separation from our God from our promised future of light and life.  God in His great compassion and think too in His perhaps sense of loss over losing the precious souls He so loved and created to be with Him decided to undo the damage done...Almost reminds me of the fairy tale of Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty who is cursed with death at the prick of the spindle but then the last good fairy softens the blow and causes deep sleep instead of death. There is such a parallel here. We as Aurora had a bright future ahead of us.  Look at the similarities: then the evil one/ evil fairy comes and robs us/her of that gift. Then a Redeemer-Jesus /good fairy comes and softens the blow.  Aurora sleeps for 100 years to be awakened by the kiss of her true love...We still "die" but we do not experience true death unless we remove ourselves willingly from God's grace. We "sleep" until the end of the world to be awakened by the "kiss" of our true love God! Then we shall awake to a wonderful new life! How the evil one must fume as did the evil fairy over the redemption of their curse... Death where is your sting? It is no more...The death of the body here is but a transition into a new life, not a loss of life...We are born again through our baptism into the life of the Creator who desires nothing more than to share His divine life and goodness with us. So henceforth friend fear not death of the body but as the Bible says fear those who can kill the body and the SOUL, that is to be feared not simply the human physical death...We WILL rise to a new whole and perfect body that will be incorruptable without stain or illness or anything the evil wished upon us in jealously of what we are destined for and he has lost.

GG

Just thinking about animals and heaven again...And more

Can't stop thinking about the intriguing wonders of heaven, all the possibilities. 

Everytime I see a poor animal killed on the road I say a prayer that God takes them to heaven to have what they missed here. I do believe He hears that prayer. Also believe its an unnecessary prayer as think He has already taken care of it. 

Been thinking about the garden before the fall. Don't know a whole lot about it but you can rather piece things together a bit if you try...All the animals got along there, not fighting amoungst themselves, no natural enemies as here now. How peaceful it must have been. Imagine there were no 100 degree with humidity days nor days so cold your teeth couldn't stop rattling either...There was no illness, no pain, no injury. It was a wonderful place to be, and yet somehow Adam and Eve were disatisfied. Why? Not sure. They wanted more, why? Did they need to pass a test before things "calmed down" and they were content? The original angels did.  Hmmm. Interesting thoughts. If they had passed the test things would be soooooo different now. Always wondered if they had passed would people just float off to heaven when it was time or would they just stay on earth. Wouldn't it have gotten crowded? God did walk in the garden with them but wonder if it was in His true form (remember He hadn't become Man yet) or was it under under human form so as to not alarm them? Not sure. Still wonder what would have happened with humans and heaven, how that would have worked out. We too now must also pass our test, not to remain in the garden but to get to the "garden" which is now Heaven.  Wonder too if when the new earth is created at the end of the world if it will be a giant "new Eden"....Guess we'll have to wait and see.  Hope to see ya there!

GG

More reactions to Heaven Book

After the few chapters in the heaven book here are some more reactions I am feeling/thinking...First HOW much God really loves us. He wants us to know this and He wants us to understand just how much He desires us to be with Him.  Also think that it must be the "other guy" that blinds us to this reality. If everyone truly understood HOW MUCH we are loved we couldn't help but to run to Him with arms wide open offering Him all we could! So why don't we realize this? Don't think God is blinding us to this. SO we must strive hard to learn all we can about Him, remember the Know,Love and Serve thing? If you know Him you Love Him then serve Him! If you love Him you will desire to be with Him for eternity! You will not find "service" to Him a burden but a joy! When we love another human we cannot do enough for them so it is too with God. So a good barometer of our love is our service then... Also when you love someone you think about them constantly so too we will/should think about our God constantly. Where your treasure is there will your heart be...Its true! I cannot wait for heaven and after reading a little of this book I really want everyone to experience the joys that await those who arrive there...It will be beyond words for sure...St Paul is truly correct in saying the eye has not seen nor the ear heard... The other guy must be sooooooo jealous over his loss that he attempts to blind us in order to keep up from attaining that for which we were so wonderfully created. If you read the book he also details so much about our "humaness" and how it will be glorified on the other side in such a way that what was ill here will be transformed into wonderful there. He makes note that all the wonderful physical attributes that we will receive are only the tip of the iceberg. Seeing and being with our Creator will the ultimate crowning reward that our glorified bodies will so wonderfully be able to enjoy.  Please read this book! I cannot say more!
GG

Reading this Awesome Book!

Found this awesome book called "The Happiness of Heaven" by  Fr. J. Boudreau,SJ

Oh my goodness what an incredible book! Think it ought to be on everyone reading list if you have any interest in heaven and the afterlife and if not then read it anyway to get one! He covers so many area's that I have never even considered yet and its just mind blowing!  It has really started me thinking hard about what he says which is so much more advanced than what I have so far come up with in my own simple meditations. One thing he touches on that I had "noticed" but never took it further into the heaven realm is our physical bodies, how we are basically slaves to them. We MUST eat, we MUST sleep...Don't know about you but I get tired sometimes of lugging mine around from place to place, its not always an easy task, we humans are "heavy" even if we are thin! He says that in Heaven when we get our risen bodies no food demands, no sleep demands and NO extra weight to carry around! He says we will be light like air able to transport ourselves anywhere by just the thought like talking long distance on the phone he says, only we will not just hear the other person we will actually be able to transport there! Can you imagine? He says so much more...He has really communicated to me in the few chapters I have read that God LOVES us so much and is just waiting so patiently to reward us sooooooooo richly for our faithfulness. He is just waiting to reward so far beyond our wildest dreams in so many, many ways.  Please even if I tried to paraphrase everything this man says I couldn't convey it so well as he...Please trust me and read the book. Amazon may have it. Tan Publishers will have it.  If not let me know and I'll research it for you. I have a copy so know they are out there. This guy has really meditated on the risen Christ to write so much of what is there, how HE was, that is how we will be. He draws from scripture and Thomas Aquinas amoung others.  A must read. It has left me so excited, can't wait to read more, and it has doubled my desire for heaven as well! Again this is one  amazing  you won't be left untouched book! You will be craving heaven so badly after reading this I promise!

GG

Animals and Heaven

Been thinking again about this.  Animals in heaven. Again if a new earth it should have animals. Second off if animals were condemned along side of us after Adam and Eve and they like us now suffer death that came into the world due to sin should they not also like us enjoy the reward? They do not have souls like our own and yet we condemned them to die by our sin. Feel God being a just God would not simply let them suffer along side of us and then not repay them somehow for their pain. This again is just my theory but I'm sticking too it as the country song says. Animals are sinless and yet they suffer, hit by cars, neglected, all suffering from the hands of men, then illness and disease, what did they do to deserve all this, nothing. To the best of my knowledge animals perfectly obey the will of God and yet again they are cursed due to our fault. Can't help but to believe that God won't reward them as well as those of us who persevere till the end by giving them what originally they would have had if we hadn't brought death into the world. Just a thought.

GG

Going through such a tough time in my life (again)

Life can be so discouraging, distressing, depressing, etc...Sometimes no matter what you do its so hard to keep going. I have such a personal history of this, sometimes it seems so unfair. Unhappy childhood due to issues with a parent, one was supportive, one was NOT! The supportive one gave me so much that still to this day brings me great joy and gave me so much ability like my gardens, my art, and so much more. The other robbed me of so much...And then adulthood seemed to be the answer the freedom so long sought. Only problem is that due to being so naive and untrained in determining such things ended up in yet another not so wonderful situation. One that is even harder to get out of than childhood was. And yet through it all there is one thing, one hope, one bright beacon that shines true. Its called Heaven. This thing, this place, this state of existence that none here can say much about...And yet it has such a draw, such a promise of all that we just can't seem to find here. Its almost as if we instinctively know that we were made for this place, this existence...Its almost inexplainable our desire for this. I believe its because we are hardwired by our Creator to desire this. We were made to be there and somehow deep in our being we know this. I think so many of us though get distracted, sidetracked. We search here on earth for the happiness of heaven. It can't be found really, its not here only small glimpses of it can be located. Just enough to tease, to encourage, to prove that such a place does exist, somewhere...We find it in the laugh of a child, a smile, a good deed that comes out of the blue when most needed, the beauty of a sunset or sunrise, the new leaves of spring, in prayer, so many little glimpses are there. Not the full picture but enough to show its real, waiting. I am in the waiting crowd. I know so well that true happiness cannot be found here except in small windows. It must be enough. I am deeply grateful for the little bits I do see and wait with great longing for the day when I get to see the full picture. It makes me think that no matter what you endure here if as St Paul says you "finish the race" the prize will be such that the pain of the race will be without memory...Only the joy, the exuberence, the satisfaction of having made it will remain! As I stated at another place it will not matter what you suffered here when you get there...It will all seem as naught. So be happy that you were born, it means you are predestined to be eternally happy and without pain no matter how bad your life may have been here on earth. Just knowing the joy I will experience makes it all seem as dust blowing away in the wind...

Peace, may you find it before you pass into eternity and may we meet on the happy side to run and laugh without memory of the pain...