Everyday Previews of Heaven and Hell
Could it be that everything of beauty and joy on earth is in some way a preview of heaven? When I wrote Inked for Eternity with Roxanne Wermuth, she described heaven as being more real than earth. Her senses there were more heightened than anything she’d known in this physical world. Every sensory perception, especially colors, was more vivid than anything she’d experienced on earth. And everything came across as being more beautiful—yet somehow similar.
This is not to postulate a one-to-one ratio that everything on earth has some kind of exact but greater counterpart in heaven. I’m rather wondering if the beauty of earth is a dim, veiled reflection of the beauty of heaven.
And could it be that everything of ugliness and violence in the world is in some way a veiled reflection of hell—what the Bible calls Gehenna?
This is not something most people think about. And no one can know for sure. So why bother?
Here’s why: Our natural world contains so much amazing beauty, and people themselves can be amazing and wonderful. The natural world also contains ugliness and violence, and people can be appallingly horrible. Seeing both the good and bad of this world as dim reflections of heaven and hell can open a wise perspective on life, one with insight into the eternal dimension beyond ours. We connect with the world beyond even while we live in this one.
Pragmatically speaking:
-This view instills us with wisdom in what we feel, think, say, and do.
-We live better and become people others can look to in living better.
-We live in deeper connection with God, his Word, and his Spirit.
-We live with greater peace in this life and greater preparedness for the next.
May you have clear vision of both the beautiful and the ugly—and may you connect that with a sense of eternity in living well in the Kingdom of God.
