Glimpses of Heaven

[Bob_Crowley]

I was in a snappy mood about God earlier today. The reason was my usual pet frustration – lack of a real vocation or trade.

So I decided to read a bit of CS Lewis’ “The Problem of Pain” at lunch time, between picking up community transport clients who suffer a lot more real pain that I do in the main. The title of the book matched my mood.

He divided the book in chapters – Introductory, Divine Omnipotence, Divine Goodness, Human Wickedness, The Fall of Man, Human Pain, Human Pain Continued, Hell, Animal Pain and finally Heaven (plus an appendix).

Not wanting to dwell too much on the ills of mankind, particularly my own, like your average bloke reading the newspaper, I flicked straight to the last topic, aka the “sports pages”. I didn’t have much time either.

So I went straight to “Chapter 10. Heaven”

And here he began …

“I reckon”, said St. Paul, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.” If this is so, a book on suffering which says nothing of heaven, is leaving out almost the whole of one side of the account. Scripture and tradition habitually put the joys of heaven into the scale against the sufferings of earth, and no solution of the problem of pain which does not do so can be called a Christian one. We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning heaven. We are afraid of the jest about ‘pie in the sky’, and of being told that we are trying to ‘escape’ from the duty of making a happy world here and now into dreams of a happy world elsewhere. But either there is ‘pie in the sky’ or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no. Again, we are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary heart can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to.” (my emphasis)

A bit further on, Lewis declares …

“… Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life; and then turned to the friend at your side who appears to be seeing what you saw – but at the first words a gulf yawns between you, and you realise that this landscape means something totally different to him, that he is pursuing an alien vision and cares nothing for the ineffable suggestion by which you are transported. Even in your hobbies, has there not always been some secret attraction which the others are curiously ignorant of- something, not to be indentified with, but always on the verge of breaking through, the smell of cut wood in the workshop or the clap-clap of the water against the boat’s side? …”

In line with Lewis’s comments about landscapes and hobbies, I thought I’d give a few “glimpses of heaven” that have appealed to me, and then see if other people have their own “glimpses”.

The other day I went for a walk through a local “bush track” and could hear the cicadas trilling in the heat. Years ago, I stood at a place called Point Lookout and watched the endless blue and white waves breaking against the rock and the beach.

I was once a fanatic about field hockey, and there was the sensation of a well hit goal, or the coolness of a winter night’s training. Skin diving, and watching brightly colored fish darting in and out of the rocks, the subdued motion of the waves a few feet down, and the welcome sun when I came back to the surface.

But I couldn’t own any of these things. They were glimpses, and always out of reach of permanent ownership. Just when I thought something might last forever, it disappeared.

The keen fisherman might own the boat and the fishing gear, but he doesn’t own the sunlight bouncing off the water, the smell of the seashore, the “clap-clap of the water against the boat’s side”, or the tug of the fish on the line. We receive hints, not keepsakes.

So I was wondering what “glimpses of heaven” other forum members might have had. Hell gets enough press time – maybe we need a reminder of the ultimate reward.

Any takers?

 

[georget]

Watching my grand daughters whenever they discover something new in nature, a snail, a caterpillar, a butterfly, new species of birds, of fish, etc.
Going to Lourdes and seeing the volunteers pushing wheelchairs and assisting those in need of comfort and solace.
Saying a prayer for something so important and walking outside and finding a rainbow overhead.
Watching someone walking down the aisle after receiving communion with tears streaming down their face.
Sitting by the sea watching the sunrise.

 

[Sarcelle]

To me a glimpse of heaven would be the night sky with all its stars.

I remember the twilight and waiting for the “dome of night” to completely cover me with a blanket of stars. This was when I lived in a place without night pollution.

I remember seeing the Southern Cross, my favorite constellation, when I lived in Hawaii.

To me, the flags of Australia and New Zealand, are beautiful, because of the Southern Cross on the flag.

 

[GEddie]

Seeing life with the innocent eyes of childhood (in front of a wise mind!)

Bodyfuls of smell-rich breath, especially spring and autumn smells, newness and fulfillment together.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Dorothy]

Being exquisitely overwhelmed by the infinite of love of God.

 

[GLam8833]

To me, it is in the act of praying selflessly for another,
purely for Their good and finding pleasure when
I am CERTAIN that God heard and in His Spirit,
discovering that He loves them thru me!!!
In other words, praying in COOPERATION with
the Holy Spirit AS PART of His Church, the fullness
of His Body who fills all the Universe in every way,
Amen.

 

[Robert_Sock]

Consider the last time you forgot something considered insightful but came to remember it at a later date. Had the insight been forgotten in a complete state of amnesia, you would likely think that you were discovering the insight for the first time. Consider the possibility that mankind is now experiencing a state of amnesia. Perhaps our “discoveries” here on earth are not really our discoveries after all.

Imagine a great reservoir of knowledge, greater than the water of all the oceans. Also imagine having a limited amount of awareness where you could acquire the knowledge one cupful of knowledge at a time, at best, and only with considerable effort; and because of your limited awareness, imagine having still greater difficulty trying to integrate one cupful of knowledge with the next. Think of this as the current scenario for man as we live this life on earth! (If you were allowed just one cupful of knowledge in this life, which type would you choose? I would fill my cup with the wisdom contained in faith, hope, and love!)

Now imagine a Supreme Being who is aware of it all at once, with each piece of knowledge fully integrated with all other related knowledge, without any effort whatsoever! Imagine entering into a new world and living an enjoyable life where there was great cooperation between you and the Supreme Being; being clothed in a glorious body, and possessing a keen sense of awareness. Imagine Him providing everyone with the exact knowledge that each of us need to know, at the exact moment the knowledge is needed. And because we have been fully reconciled with Him, and the world of His judgement has come to pass, imagine that our level of cooperation with one another reached close to perfection.

 

[GLam8833]

In your signature, you have it RIGHT:

Wisdom is the booby-prize in life… but it does have certain advantages over our usual day-to-day vanities.

Only w. HUMILITY can you access this kind of WISDOM!