How to be somewhere over the rainbow, Not on the rocks.
By Robert W. Bibb
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HEAVEN IN ONE EASY STEP
HOW TO BE SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW, NOT ON THE ROCKS
Š 2012 Robert W. Bibb
ACKNOWLEDGENENTS Thanks to my sons Donnie and David who have inspired me by sharing their spiritual insights. Thanks also to my wife, Mary Ann, for her careful proof reading and thoughtful analysis. My thanks also to Mary Ellen Cahill, my goddaughter, who inspires me to keep writing.
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How to be somewhere over the rainbow, Not on the rocks.
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HEAVEN IN ONE EASY STEP by Robert W Bibb July 14, 2012
Who wants to go to heaven? Apparently everyone in the whole world longs for heaven. The evidence for this is all pervasive in human life. The propensities of human nature that set us apart from all other creatures are the same predispositions that expose our heavenly design. A thoughtful examination of our human tendencies will reveal not so much what we are as what we ought to have been, and what we long to be. It is easy to see from the way human kind has pushed the boundaries of our five senses, how we long for abilities far greater than we have. Consider how we have extended our five senses: 1. Our longing for greater vision has led to; eyeglasses, telescopes, microscopes, radar, television, and computer aided electronic devices to help us perceive things that are invisible. 2. Longing to enhance our hearing has led to; hearing aids, bull horns, sonar, and sound amplifiers of every conceivable kind. 3. We extend our sense of smell by using bloodhounds to smell for us things we can’t smell. We put an additive that we can smell in natural gas in order to make known to us the presence of deadly natural gas that we can’t smell. Through chemistry we have learned to reproduce any natural smell. 4. Flavors are changed and enhanced by the use of many natural and artificial additives to spice up our food. 5. My, how we have played to our sense of touch. We have taken every conceivable precaution to make sure of the comfort of our sense of touch. Here are only a few; temperature control (heating and air conditioning), meteorology (Is it going to be hot, or cold? Wet or dry?), soft clothing, and comfortable furniture, homes, and work environments. Going beyond our five senses, we have learned to perceive and control things beyond the limits of our natural animal abilities; electricity, atomic radiation, microwaves, and other forms of wave energy. We have developed devices that help us travel farther,
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faster, and more comfortably, in the air, above the air, on the ground, under the ground, on the water, and under the water. This abbreviated tabulation of the extension of our natural abilities draws forth the obvious realization that mankind will never reach the point of final satisfaction. The reason behind this fact is the point of this dissertation, which is that human life today still reflects the attributes with which humankind was endowed by God, when Adam was first created. Even though because of the sin of Adam and Eve our human nature has been greatly weakened, through careful contemplation the great glory that was once ours can still be glimpsed, faintly, as from afar. The pattern is still right before us. God created us to be His own children. It follows then that just as our children resemble us, we were all created to resemble God, our Heavenly Father. If we examine the various propensities of our human ways and compare them to what we know of God, it is possible to gain some idea of how we were originally meant to have been. As we begin this study let us recall these scripture verses: “26Then God said: ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the creatures that crawl on the ground.’ 27God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.”
Genesis 1: 26-27 “10The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?”
Luke16: 10-12
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In these two scripture passages we have the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. The first passage is a description of our original design. The second passage, by the words, “true wealth,” and “give you what is yours,” has the promise of restoration to our original condition and possibly even better. Adam and Eve, when first created were like God in every way but one. They were clothed in innocence. They did not have the knowledge of good and evil, they had only the knowledge of good. Certainly our children come into the world the same way, innocent. During their infancy and childhood, Mother and Father are their loving caregivers. It is only after they grow to maturity that they can relate to Mother and Father as adult friends. That kind of mature relationship with God, our Father, is exactly what was intended for each one of us from the beginning. Satan, the enemy and unwitting servant of God, introduced the knowledge of evil to the innocent couple. Adam and Eve did not have to succumb to the temptation to join Satan in his rebellion, in order to learn of evil. Had they trusted God and rebuffed the temptation to rebel, they would have matured, learned of evil without participating in it, and grown in their relation of friendship with God. When Jesus talks about being, “trustworthy with dishonest wealth,” He is talking about the fact that nothing on this earth is truly ours, but that we are only stewards over these things. If anything was truly our own possession, nothing could take them away from us. However, we all know that when anyone dies all that they have then belongs to someone else. Even our very bodies return to the dust of the earth. If we don’t even have immanent control of our own bodies, how could we truly own anything at all? “ ‘Who will give you what is yours?’ ” is a reference of the time to come when those who are found to be “trustworthy” will in fact be given things that they will possess for all eternity. As we begin this study, St. Paul, who was instructed by Jesus, describes in the first passage our current condition, and in
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the second, alludes to the coming restoration of our original attributes: “9For we know partially and we prophesy partially, 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.” “12At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. At present I know partially: then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.”
1 Corinthians 13: 9-10, 12 “And now I commend you to God and to that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated.”
Acts 20:32 So now, lets look into the “mirror” St. Paul spoke of. Let us examine the propensities of human kind as they are now, to see how they resemble what once was and what may be ours as an inheritance in eternity. The first and one of the most important things that separate human kind from all other creatures is speech. Through the wonderful facility of speech we are able to communicate to one another. Through speech we are able to make known to others all that our minds are able to conceive, everything from the mundane communication of our daily business, to our deepest longing, desire, love, and every possible emotion of our soul, our deepest self. Speech is so important we have devised ways to communicate and preserve our ideas for the education, edification, and enjoyment of others. Besides written language there is art and various forms of technical devices to record, preserve, and display sound, words, and pictures. The question is, how has this remarkable capability of speech been diminished, and what may it be like when it is restored? Look at the pattern we were made from. How does God use speech? When God spoke, all of creation came into existence. The work Adam was given to do in the Garden of Eden involved speech also. God had all the animals pass before Adam to see what he would call them and what ever he
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called them, that was their name. We don’t know what other work Adam was given to do, but it was definitely a new and strange thing when he had to struggle and labor with his body to provide for himself, his wife and children. After he rebelled against God, Adam had to work the earth with his hands and the sweat of his face. Adam could no longer speak and it would be so. So, what remains of the former power of human speech that existed in the Garden of Eden? What is there in human speech today that points to something that once was and we would like to have back? People have always been fascinated by magic, and stories where certain magic words conjure up spells and curses. People still dream of flying on magic carpets or brooms simply by uttering the right words. The power is gone, but the desire is still there to be like God, our Creator, to speak and our words have the power to make seemingly impossible things happen. What evidence is there that in eternity we will enjoy some restored and enhanced oral attributes? Actually, we don’t have to wait for the next life to discover that from the time of Moses, people delivering God’s messages have sometime been given oral powers so that by their words impossible things occur. The New Testament is abounding with the accounts of the miracles of Jesus. From the time of Jesus to the present time, accounts of miracles by His followers are beyond counting. Our words today have power. That is why Jesus said: “Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.”
Mark 11:24 Due to the weakened condition of our human nature it is not our words that have power, but rather the power is in God’s response to our prayers. The letter of St. James points out why our prayers are not always answered, and this one verse sums it up: “You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
James 4:3
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This statement of St. James, will no longer be applicable in heaven where we will be beyond the testing and rebellion of this world, and in accord with the Godhead and all of the family of God. People today, just as people of every other generation, do things to try to enhance the appearance of their bodies. Sometimes the hair on various body parts is shaved off. The hair of the head is curled, braded, brushed, straightened, colored, or bedecked with jewels. Sometimes jewelry is added, such as rings to the fingers, toes, ears, nose, navel, etc. Sometimes other body art such as tattoos are applied to the body. It is a telling sign that deep down we all have a longing for our bodies to be as glorious as God originally made them; vibrant, beautiful, perfectly designed to live forever, with no hint of sickness or the deterioration of old age and death. No matter how we decorate our bodies, no matter how we take care of ourselves, we all know that in due time it will all end in death. Our only hope is in the resurrection of Jesus. In Jesus we each have the hope that in His salvation we will be given the glorious gifts of God which will be truly our own and will never be taken away from us. This is the Gospel message; a message longed for by each person in the very depths of their soul. Even the desire to own things is a reflection of that deep longing for our original state, the state of being like our Creator, God. Unfortunately for many people, resurrection from the dead will not bring restoration, but condemnation, and their demise will be complete. As Jesus said in Matthew 22:14, “Many are invited, but few are chosen.” The difference at the resurrection between the fate of those being restored, and the demise of the others, is the subject Jesus dealt with in the parable of the talents. Here is that parable from the Gospel of Matthew. “14It will be as when a man who was going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. 15To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one – to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately 16the one who received five talents went
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and traded with them, and made another five. 17Likewise, the one who received two made another two. 18But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. 20The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more. 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come share your master’s joy.’ 22[Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come share your master’s joy.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; 25so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’ 26His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? 27Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? 28Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. 29For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’”
Matthew 25:14-30 It is possible to look at this parable and not be able to understand the implications, and how it applies to us today. This is the way I see it and the point that I’m trying to make. First of all, notice that in verse 15 that each of the three had been given an amount commensurate with his abilities, and not something
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beyond his capacity. The two that were trading were doing something that was quite out in the open, in plain sight, right out in public. The one that buried his portion did so in secret. It was as though he had nothing in common at all with the other two fellows. Now, pay attention to what the master says as he redresses this unprofitable servant in verse 27. “Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?” In other words, he wasn’t required to go out and do
public trading, but at a minimum should have put his portion in the bank. Translating this to the work of the Church today, the two with the larger portions would be those who work publicly for the Church; missionaries, clergy, and lay leaders. (Lay – from the Greek word, “laikos,” which means, “From the people.”) The question remains, what is the minimum acceptable thing referred to as; “put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?” To me this means; come to Mass on Sundays, warm the pew, be counted as a believer (member), just show up and do what little is asked of you. This is the one easy step, something well within the ability of any one, and I think this would qualify as that minimal requirement referred to. So, to ensure that in the resurrection you will be with those receiving the gifts of Godly attributes, instead of condemnation, at least do the minimum. However, who wants to receive the minimum blessing? I strongly advise doing more. *******
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Small Books by This Author A Letter to Ruby (Biographical) Tracing My Faith (Biographical) My Mother and Me (Inspirational Biography) HEAVEN In One Easy Step (Inspirational) SUNDAY MASS What's It All About (Inspirational)
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