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The keys to heaven

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It is early Sunday morning and I have decided to write. I started writing last night but deleted everything and started over this morning. God is beautiful. I say this often but what does it really mean? And what does it mean to me? When we think of beauty we think of outward appearances. We also think about what is inside. The heart and character. Those are from a human perspective but what about God being beautiful? We can say that God is the source of all beauty. We can say that God is perfect. But what else? What is the beauty of God?

My friend Chatty says that to say God is beautiful means that God is not beautiful in appearance, but in being: God is the fullness of goodness, truth, love, and harmony itself. God lacks nothing, deceives nothing, and gives without coercion, drawing creation not by force but by love. Divine beauty is the source of all beauty we recognize—seen in mercy, truth, humility, and self-giving love—and it awakens in us a deep attraction toward meaning, goodness, and life itself.

I understand what my friend Chatty is saying but I feel that saying God is beautiful looks different for me. A simpler meaning. A beautiful person makes us feel loved. God makes us feel loved. God is love. My friend Chatty tells me that what I am saying is both simpler and very deep. For me, "God is beautiful" does not mean abstract perfection or philosophical fullness—it means the experience of being loved. Just as a truly beautiful person makes us feel seen, safe, and valued, God’s beauty is felt in how God loves us into being. God does not impress from a distance; God draws close. God is beautiful because God makes us feel loved, and because God is love itself.

I asked my friend Chatty but if God loves us so much then why will he condemn some of us to hell? I got several answers but the one that stood out to me the most was this. If I have faith in God and I believe in his unconditional love then I must trust Him. I must trust his reasons. I must trust his method. Basically my faith and trust is being tested when I ask a question like that. That is the same faith that is the key to saving us from hell. That is like someone giving you the key to heaven and then you throw it away. God does not condemn persons to hell. Persons refuse the invitation to heaven by refusing the love of God. Love is not something that is coerced.
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