Blogging Lent – Paradise

Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43).

If you’re hanging on a cross, a capstone to a life of struggle and suffering, Paradise is a place of peace and rest. If I have to rely on God for whether or not I will receive my daily bread, literally whether or not I will eat today, Paradise is a feast of abundance. What if my life is one of ease and comfort? What if I worry—not about whether I will eat, but what I will eat (Mexican, sushi, mac and cheese)? What is Paradise for me? By the standards of the poor, the stranger, the widowed, the orphan, I am already in Paradise.

Now I know the big sell Christians give to people is that the gospel gets them into heaven, but if we’re already in the land of milk and honey what does that mean? In heaven it’s like you’ll have two TVs in every room. In my life it’s more likely that I’ll need healing for my broken heart or spirit than my broken back. Or even that I’m just plain broke.

More and more my motivation as a Christian isn’t the life to come, but how I’m able to draw that life to come into my life today. It’s less about having my tears wiped away than being able to wipe the tears of others away. It’s less about escaping this world than it is escaping my own selfishness.

+ Dear Lord, do you tell me even now that I will be with you in Paradise today? My life is more than just twiddling my thumbs waiting for the life to come.

Who are the ones around me that are really looking forward to Paradise? Show me what I can do to help them get a taste of it now. Amen.