Do you hope to make it to heaven?

Do you hope to make it to heaven?

This week's reflection is written by
V. Rev. Michael S. Murray, OSFS

That’s the ultimate goal of our lives on this earth, isn’t it? To make it to heaven? The challenge is that on any given day we’re tempted to see our earthly lives as merely a place to wait until our name or number gets called. Christian philosopher Dallas Willard observed:

“The Gospel is less about how to get into the Kingdom of Heaven after you die and more about how to live in the Kingdom of Heaven before you die.”

In other words, heaven isn’t merely a location at the end of the road. Heaven isn’t merely a station at the end of the line. Heaven is fundamentally about relationships. Heaven is a particular template for looking at God, ourselves and one another with the mind and heart of Jesus Christ…throughout the journey itself.

Listen to how St. Francis de Sales states it:

“Keep your eyes fixed on that blissful day of eternity towards which the course of years bears us on. And these years, as they progress, themselves carry us stage by stage until we reach the end of the road. But meanwhile, in each passing moment, there lies enclosed as in a tiny kernel the seed of all eternity. And in our humble little works of devotion on this earth there lies hidden the prize of everlasting glory.”

We don’t have to wait to die to get into heaven – much of heaven is already available to those willing to live each and every present moment with as much attention, intention and as possible! Maybe Francis de Sales says it best:

“God…only wants to bestow his eternity in heaven upon those who make good use of their time on earth.”

So, do you still hope to make it to heaven? Well, as it turns out, there’s no time like the present.