Heaven & Hell

I've noticed a lot of discussion floating around recently about Hell, basically arguing whether it's an actual place of torment for the damned or just a story made up to scare people who might be tempted to depart from the faith.

Is Hell eternal torture for unrepentant sinners? Is it just a state of separation from God for those who choose rebellion, and the torture is emotional rather than physical because of that separation? Or is it nothing but a myth created by men?

Rather than get involved in a theological discussion on the nature of Hell, I thought instead I'd ruminate on some of my thoughts about Heaven.

I've heard comments before from folks that heaven must be a rather tedious and boring place, if all everyone does is sit around on clouds praising God and learning to play the harp. It's a rather funny image, but is the root of my own thoughts about heaven.

If heaven is a place where we can eternally experience peace and love and happiness, I naturally would relate that to human experience on earth. What are the greatest, most heavenly experiences we can have on earth?

Of course, most would list things like love and friendship, fun, great food, sex, beauty, wealth and achievement. I suppose those things are more important to us in our worldly experiences, but perhaps not so important in the afterlife.

But even though those experiences may seem to us to be the most heavenly, none of them are all that terrific without some struggle, pain or conflict.

Isn't friendship rather shallow without shared experiences? It seems to me that the best friends come from people who go through great challenges or difficulties together, which is what bonds their friendship for life.

Love is very much like friendship, but these days people seem to confuse it with sex. In addition to shared trials, isn't the most heavenly bond of love found by a young newlywed couple who both begin their first night together as virgins?

The best gourmet food is nothing compared to a simple meal of rice and beans for someone who is starving. The best wine can't hold a candle to a drink of water for someone who is extremely thirsty.

Achievement isn't fully appreciated unless it came at great cost. Think of a sports team that wins a championship; when their victory comes against all odds and with extraordinary sacrifice and practice and physical conditioning, it means much more than if it were achieved against inferior competition.

Wealth doesn't mean much without loved ones to share it with, which seems to be a truth discovered by many who sacrifice love and friendship to achieve it.

So the paradox of heaven for me is, how is it that heaven can be such a wonderful place if it removes the pain, suffering, and hard labor we must experience on earth in order to find our glimpses of heaven?