The Four Last Things

What's Your Next Step? Think About Heaven.

At some point, we all encounter the mystery of death, and we find ourselves asking, "What happens after we die?" Some ask as young children, others as inquisitive teenagers, and still others as adults blindsided by tragedy. Many of us, especially those raised in some church environment, are given a word to sum up the mystery of the afterlife: Heaven. We go to heaven after we die.

• Take a minute to think about heaven. Can you remember where you first encountered the idea of heaven? Who told you about it? How did you learn to think about this "next place"? Does it have a location? A certain feeling? 

The Church prays that all the world might be saved, that we all might share the life of God and live always in the presence of God's infinite beauty. But whatever this next life is, we recognize that it begins here. If we have not somehow encountered and accepted God's friendship in this life, how will we be prepared to encounter and accept it in the next?

• Take another minute and think about the happiest or most fulfilling experiences you've had. What made them so amazing? What conditions allowed you to be so happy? 

Whatever heaven is, it is the fulfillment of who and what we are in this life. The resurrection of the Lord Jesus shows us that this life and the next are connected, that one flows into the other (Jesus' hands still bear the marks of his crucifixion.) Our personal histories are not erased in the next life -- rather, our life stories find their ultimate meanings in the life of God, a life that we have already begun to experience here. 

• Take a final minute and make a connection between heaven and your experiences of happiness. If your temporary experience of fulfillment and happiness is anything like the blessedness of the life to come, if earthly happiness is in any way a foretaste of eternal bliss, what must be true about heaven? What must heaven be like for you to be happy there? Gather your thoughts into a short prayer expressing your longing for heaven, and share this prayer with the One whose presence is Heaven.

Peace!