What Does Heaven Mean To Me Research Paper
What does heaven mean to me?
For one thing, heaven is the ultimate goal and realization of the deepest human desires. Heaven is also hard to put into words. It contains that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived (1 Cor. 2:9). Earth is the only frame of reference we have this side of eternity. If we cannot understand heaven in terms of earth then we cannot understand it at all. It is not surprising, then, that we would try to imagine heaven in earthly terms. Therefore, in seeking to answer such “thought provoking” question, I am also aware of the fact that while I may use earthly images, whether physical, spiritual or psychological to describe heaven like the two points highlighted below, yet none of them comprehensively …show more content…
To me, heaven means in ordinary human language - love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. In the Christian Tradition, they are referred to as the “fruits of the Spirit” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5: 22-23). Each one of us have experienced and expressed the fruits of the Spirit in different ways on earth. The fruit of the Spirit well lived is heaven on earth.
b. Heaven for me also means that “state of being.” Those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ. They will see God face to face as he really is. In other words, it is the state of supreme and definitive …show more content…
I firmly believe in faith that “those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ” (Alfred, 104). They will, no doubt, see God face to face. This for me is meeting heaven face to face. It is the state of supreme and definitive happiness with God. In fact, Holy Scripture and the teaching of my faith tradition emphasizes a call to personal responsibility by which we use our freedom, aided by divine grace, to affect our eternal destiny. And so, there must always be that urgent call within my heart to conversion and repentance. I also believe that God predestines no one to
For one thing, heaven is the ultimate goal and realization of the deepest human desires. Heaven is also hard to put into words. It contains that which no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has conceived (1 Cor. 2:9). Earth is the only frame of reference we have this side of eternity. If we cannot understand heaven in terms of earth then we cannot understand it at all. It is not surprising, then, that we would try to imagine heaven in earthly terms. Therefore, in seeking to answer such “thought provoking” question, I am also aware of the fact that while I may use earthly images, whether physical, spiritual or psychological to describe heaven like the two points highlighted below, yet none of them comprehensively …show more content…
To me, heaven means in ordinary human language - love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. In the Christian Tradition, they are referred to as the “fruits of the Spirit” (St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians 5: 22-23). Each one of us have experienced and expressed the fruits of the Spirit in different ways on earth. The fruit of the Spirit well lived is heaven on earth.
b. Heaven for me also means that “state of being.” Those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ. They will see God face to face as he really is. In other words, it is the state of supreme and definitive …show more content…
I firmly believe in faith that “those who die in friendship and grace with God, and who are perfectly purified, will live forever with Christ” (Alfred, 104). They will, no doubt, see God face to face. This for me is meeting heaven face to face. It is the state of supreme and definitive happiness with God. In fact, Holy Scripture and the teaching of my faith tradition emphasizes a call to personal responsibility by which we use our freedom, aided by divine grace, to affect our eternal destiny. And so, there must always be that urgent call within my heart to conversion and repentance. I also believe that God predestines no one to