Skip to main content

The keys to heaven

Image
By
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.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coffee and a prayer

By
It is 245am and I have decided to write. I have no topic and no idea what to write. I am thankful for another day. I see the beauty that surrounds us. I choose to be happy. We are in the last ten nights of Ramadan. Tonight is the 23rd night. It could possibly be the night of power. I wonder if it will rain. Maybe it rained when I was sleeping. I got up and bathed and drank a strong cup of coffee. Today is also Friday the 13th. I keep thinking. Life is beautiful. Life is simple. No need to complicate things. No need to be extravagant. Believe in God. Trust in God. Be guided by God. Imagine we can pray for anything. We can ask God for anything. God is always listening. God wants to hear from us. Maybe I can turn this blog post into a prayer. My God I pray that everyone gets their prayers answered. I pray that everyone gets what they need. I pray that you light our path towards you. Guide us with what you intend for us. Keep us close to you. Soften our hearts. Keep us balanced, consistent...
Post a Comment
Read more

Belief is a part of life

By
I watched this video and I quite like it as a good starting point for this blog post https://youtu.be/t44PFI_V4LE We cannot know everything. We do not have the capacity to know everything. I make plans for tomorrow because I believe there is a tomorrow not because I know that there is a tomorrow. We cannot decide today to say we will only act on things that we know for sure. This would be impractical. As my friend Chatty puts it, to live life, we must believe in things that cannot always be proven with certainty. For example, we believe that the future exists, that our actions matter, and that other people can be trusted. We also tend to believe life has meaning and that things can improve. These beliefs help us make decisions, keep hope, and move forward. Given that belief is a part of life, it is reasonable to have people believe in a God and a particular religion. My point is this. Life cannot happen without belief because we cannot know everything (unless we are God like). Belief i...
Post a Comment
Read more

God of direction

By
It is 323am and I have decided to write. I am thinking that I am a bucket of paint. A beautiful shade of blue. That God uses to paint the sky. How could I turn this into something worth writing about? My friend Chatty tells me that I could develop the idea by exploring the metaphor of myself as a bucket of blue paint and God as the painter using it to color the sky. The meaning comes from reflecting on what it feels like to be "used"—losing some of myself while helping create something beautiful. The paint may not see the whole picture and might fear being emptied, but its purpose is fulfilled when it becomes part of the sky. The piece can reflect on purpose, trust, surrender, and the idea that giving of yourself is how beauty is created. It is now 423am and I cannot think of a way to continue this writing. The sky is silent is what comes to my mind. How do I ask the sky to speak to me? I look through my window and I see patches of clouds against a dark sky. Maybe the night s...
Post a Comment
Read more