God’s Infomercial

Can we truly find heaven here on earth? This is a question my friend posted on her blog (www.timelytidbits.wordpress.com). Well really not a question but rather a statement of trying to find heaven here on earth, the Promised Land. Like the Israelites, we too walk aimlessly in a desert, or so we think.

They were not walking aimlessly, God had a plan, a reason, they may not have known it, nor liked the reason, but God had one. One of purification, after the whole golden calf thing, God got a little miffed at them. After all he had done for them; they abandon him because he and Moses had a long conversation. Okay, so the conversation lasted 40 days, but still, they had all they needed, God gave them freedom, they were no longer slaves. But sometimes we choose to be slaves, slaves to drugs, sex, video games and other habits that control us, remove our freewill. Some even become slaves to church; they use it as a crutch, something to blame it all on, or something to control their lives. Any action that removes our freewill places us in a form of slavery.

So like our brothers and sisters we must walk in the desert, searching for our promised land, our heaven here on earth. But our heaven here on earth is only a sample of what is to come, much like an infomercial, there is always more for your $19.95. God will pay all shipping and handling (The death and resurrection of His Son Jesus) and he more than doubles the offer, he promises to pay you back tenfold (10 times) and it’s not a limited time offer, Gods offer of salvation, of Heaven is a life time offer, with a satisfaction guarantee that last an eternity.

The conversation between my friend and I took this to task, she feels strongly that my view is too simple, too limited. That we get more than a sample, that we can get to a more permanent heaven here on earth. Not that that I disagree, I do think that we can have heaven on earth, as I stated above, and yes I do believe that we are to work towards a more perfect humanity, so we can enjoy more moments of heaven on earth, but I do not believe that we are capable of perfection, here on earth. We are a fall race, Adam and Eve made sure of that, so we must continue to walk in the desert, paying for or sins and the sins of our race.

Jesus tells us so, in the story about not putting new wine in an old wineskin, the new wine will burst the skin. We are like old wine skins, cracked and used, this life is the first step of purification, but we still have more to pay, we, as Catholics, believe in purgatory, a place of final purification, one that creates us as new wineskins, able to hold the new wine (Jesus).

So to me, heaven on earth happens, but only as a preview, an infomercial to show us a glimpse of what we can have when we are with God the Father for all of eternity. When we finally cross over the Jordan River, and walk in the light of God, to offer our simple prayers of praise to the All Mighty Father.

So I take my walk, looking for moments of Heaven, but knowing that I am only a fallen man, one not truly worthy of God’s graces and not purified enough to enter in to the land of milk and honey. I still need the manna from heaven to feed my soul.

Paul