I opened the gate to a trail of green grass, tall tress and big brushes... All this rich verdure canopied a sparkling body of water, carefully packed by the Creator in what man calls a "lake." But, the wonder of all wonders was the thick fog that enshrouded this magnificent sight... gliding through the green grass, being caressed by the misty fog with the mesmerizing chill of fresh air, I thought to myself "this must be heaven!"
Lost in my senses, I didn't notice the approaching footsteps.. hump, thump, hump, he walked... Suddenly, the music stops and my heart skips a beat. Noticing a silhouette figure over my shoulder, my heart skips more beats, or five to be precise... I was engulfed by a feeling, a feeling called fear!
What? Realising the meaning of this emotion, it hit me.. This isn't heaven. Heard have I about its beauty, imagined have I about its awesome scenery and beautiful people, but it has never gone into my imagination that heaven would be a place of fear... That I was afraid of the approaching foot soldier was proof that I was not there....yet.
See heaven is not the absence of sorrows, much as I want the sorrow to end; heaven is not just a place where the painful blow of death doesn't strike, much as I despise death; heaven is not only a place where little girls are not raped, defiled, mutilated... Heaven is not a place where flowers do not wither and leaves never fall... Much as I am tired by the cares and concerns of this world, of losing friends, opportunities, dreams, and beautiful nature, I do not look forward to place that is all bliss.
Heaven is peace, quietude, and security in the Father's love. Heaven is being able to sleep even in a raging storm because you know that the One in you can calm it. I guess heaven is the state of not being worried about sin, because you know that it is sin that takes away your joy, your peace, your serenity...
If heaven was the absence of sorrow, death, hunger, God could have easily given us all this but trust me, we would still not be satisfied... Heaven is therefore God with us; the reunion of the estranged prodigal with his loving Father!
Heaven, no matter how fair, is not heaven if God isnt there!
