Ooh, baby, do you know what that’s worth?
Ooh heaven is a place on earth
They say in heaven love comes first
We’ll make heaven a place on earth
Ooh heaven is a place on earth

- 80’s pop sensation (and inadvertent theologian) Belinda Carlisle.

So I’m listening to this show on the radio the other day, and people are fighting about Heaven.

Heaven's Rays. Image courtesy of wallpaper-s.org

Go ahead, let that one sink in for a minute.

The panel that was discussing had gotten worked up and heated, all because they disagreed on some of the finer points about what Heaven looked like and what the Bible means when it talks about the new Heaven and new Earth.

Did I mention this was a Christian radio program?

Sigh.

Personally, my vision of Heaven does not include sitting on clouds playing harps or honest to goodness streets of gold - But I’ll be the first to admit that I have no idea…

A picture of the soul exiting

I can’t quite remember when or who, but in the recent months, I was told that the body I’m currently occupying is being borrowed from GOD almighty, and it’s really important that I take care of it.

This statement has honestly been in my head for a long time! I can’t help it, this statement basically tells me and everyone that a human is nothing more than a soul. Our body is nothing but a disguise that distinguises us from any other beings.

This has affected the way I view myself.  It helps, this really isn’t me, and what I see in others, it really isn’t them! Thats scary! But there is a lesson to learn from all this, this is why we shouldn’t do drugs, smoke, or abuse our selves with anything that is harmful to us! This is the whole reason behind taking everything in moderation.

We all should…

This is not Gracie, who was a mutt we rescued from a shelter. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Once when I was working as a hospital chaplain a patient asked me whether or not dogs go to heaven. He was a successful and well-educated man, a little ironic in tone, and at first I wondered if he was pulling my leg. But in the end we had quite a lovely conversation about how important pets can be. I think I said something about how at the very least the love we have for them must be eternal; having a pet in our lives can transform our hearts in such a way that it clearly seems a gift from God. And once given, would God take such a gift away from us?

Later I remembered Jesus’ teaching about how we won’t be married in heaven and I wondered if I had wandered into…