I found myself getting upset yesterday because The Bible gives this idea that Heaven is a place, and that God will be there in physical form and that we will also be there in physical form. The truth is that our physical form, our bodies, remain here on Earth. They decompose and return to the dirt. It is part of the life cycle. I guess that it is comforting to think of Heaven as a place in a different plane and to believe that when we die, we can be in God’s physical presence.
I shouldn’t be upset about it. After all, I still picture Santa Claus as a sweet, bearded man in a red and white suit. And when it comes to God, even though I know that Jesus probably looked more middle eastern than Caucasian, I still have a certain picture in my mind of Jesus that is more like me (half Caucasian and half Hispanic) than anyone else. When I think of God the Father, I think of the old man depicted on the Sistine Chapel. When I think of the Holy Spirit, I think of a dove or a beautiful white light. All of these are just symbols for God. It comforts me to have an image, but I know that God is the Alpha and Omega. He is all and everything. If God is timeless and everywhere, then He can’t have a gender or a body. He is beyond anything that I can comprehend. So, I guess I need to find a way to be more loving and tolerant when my brothers and sisters want to think of Heaven as a place and dream of seeing God when they die. I have faith that it’ll happen; just not the exact way that they think it will. It will be indescribable. And I guess that is the one thing that the Bible does say. When we die, the experience will be beyond anyone’s imagination. I hope so.
My faith saved me. May God’s peace reside in all of our hearts.
