Heaven is for Lovers
Whenever we talk about heaven and hell, one thing that exerts its certitude is that heaven is meant only for lovers.
Lovers; I don’t mean the confusion of lust, but that which carries the burdens of sacrifice, mercy, forgiveness, compassion, altruism, etc.
Should I not use a biblical pericope for better comprehension? Hmmmmh, let’s go this way:
There were two sets of people who kicked the bucket. While alive, the first set, a couple; husband and wife were bitter enemies before they died.
One of them reached the gate of heaven before the other. At the entrance of heaven, he was told that he was in an unworthy state, but he implored God’s mercy and God being compassionate and forgiving, allowed his entrance.
The wife arrived at the heaven’s entrance in the same unworthy state like her husband, but God being just, merciful and compassionate, allowed her entrance.
As soon as the couple saw themselves in heaven, they began their earthly quarrel from where they stopped, reminding each other of all the trespasses against each other.
The quarrel became so fierce that the Archangel Michael intervened. Inspite of that, God being compassionate, retained them in heaven.
The couple continued bearing grudges among themselves that they started looking for weapons to wound themselves. There being heaven, they found no such weapon.
Persisting in their grudges, both husband and wife left heaven in search of weapons to wound themselves.
They didn’t come back to heaven because there’s nothing in heaven that could be used to satisfy their hatred for each other.
The second set of people died. Prior to their death, both had been passionate enemies. But one day, the one that trespassed against the other asked the one he trespassed against for forgiveness, but to no avail.
Rather, he told the one that wronged him: Ikpe mụ na gị dị n’eluigwe: our case will be adjuged in heaven, therefore he won’t forgive.
Both died, the one at wrong was accepted into heaven with some difficultly. The righteous one who was trespassed against went straight into heaven without any difficulty.
Immediately he entered heaven, he saw his bitter enemy whom he failed to forgive, went straight to God and reported their case.
God said to him, “but he has asked you for forgiveness.” But, he insisted that his enemy should be punished.
In all, God said no because He had forgiven all he admitted in heaven by the fact of the blood of His Son Jesus Christ shed on the Calvary Cross.
The man angrily revolted.
For him, “how can I stay in the same place with that enemy?”
With this eternal hatred in him, he finally decided and left heaven for another place where his earthly enemy won’t be seen.
God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God…(1 John 4:16).
Fr. Henrycharles Umelechi
Truth Series.