IS THERE REALLY NO SORROW IN HEAVEN?



We know that in Heaven all things are made new, and that there is no more sorrow, death, sickness...and every tear is wiped away.  Does that mean that all our negative emotions cease?  In this society today, where God is pushed aside as an antiquated idea, an afterthought, a moral code, or a lifeline only when troubles come--we wonder if God cares how WE feel.  It's always about US!  Do we ever consider how HE feels?

Is His hurt as deep as His Love? Is His longing for us frustrating, painful to watch, and depressing as we live out our self-centered lives?  While the Presence of God in Heaven expresses a Perfect Paradise, a Utopia where no evil or contrary things exist--is it true to assume that God has no sorrow, no anger, or jealousy?  God has been of all time and does not change.  If He was a jealous God, an angry One, and a weary One in the Old Testament--why would He not be after the Cross?  If we shall be in Him and like Him as it says in Scriptures, wouldn't those emotions still remain?

I wonder if the verse referring to every tear wiped away and no more sorrow is speaking of our own misery, but not that we cannot know and care about what others on earth are going thru.  Some believe that people in Heaven cannot see earth or hell...if we are to become like angels and are higher than angels, than why not?  Are there not Scriptures to say angels impact upon earth?  Hebrews 12 speaks of a "cloud of witnesses"...where are clouds?  Who are the witnesses? 

I believe we are in God's Peace(which is not like the world), full of God's Love and Total Trust, and are given to know everything and all the outcomes and purposes of His Will.  That is what fills us with incredible joy and awe...because we do get to see the magnitude of Jesus' victory over satan and the curse of sin and death!  We do experience the incredible, the indescribable outcome of all of God's Creation...all the good and justice!  Yet, while waiting for the total deliverance of all creation...what do they feel while they pray for us?  Do they shake their heads aghast at humanity?  How could they not cry at the evils, the atheism and rejection of God, and the unbelievable arrogance and audacity of mankind?  How could they not be sad for the emptiness of souls? 

I believe we can see into hell as well...not that its before our vision of every moment; but that we can know what "not having God" is like and appreciate His Mercy!  Surely it causes us to swell in adoration, appreciation and praise?  I think we see His Justice, because when Jesus returns with all the angels and saints....it won't be pretty. So we will be shocked by what happens before us on earth as we arrive with Jesus?  I don't think so, but I think we will be ready for evil to be vanquished and accept the Justice...

  Why would we hide behind the clouds and forget all those who have impacted our journey towards Heaven?  Why would we want to if we have the Heart of God?  So there has to be emotions in Heaven, and not just the good ones.  We won't be suffering--but if God ached for us--wont we ache for our loved ones? 

Going back to my First Love

I am hard of hearing. Once I had a preacher and elders lay hands on me to heal my hearing. Well the Lord did not heal it, but rather gave me a "new" kind of hearing. Took me awhile to figure out that, not everyone could hear what I heard. It was just an assumption that all Christians, especially those whose hearts were on fire for God..."got what I got". It was a very confusing time for me then. I felt so out of touch with the world...which was a good thing as far as God was concerned...but very difficult for some family, friends and my kids. One gets lonely when there isn't anyone who comprehends what is going on....and you feel like an alien sometimes.

Never did I feel so alive, so certain, and so close to the Invisible Creator, Our Father who is beyond those beautiful glistening stars in the sky, deeper than the blue raging ocean,outside of time and history...yet within it all. Maybe everyone else didn't have what I have....but I wanted them to! I prayed all the time, in all things, about all things, for everyone, everywhere! I was certain all those prayers were going to bring joyful things to so many!

Somewhere...gradually...very subtil...my heart was closing. There was a film beginning to cover it...much like cataracts do to the eyes. It isn't noticed in the beginning. When the vision begins to blur...we go to the eye doctor, and when we see our hearts and minds are not right--we go back to prayer and to God. The impediment is removed. Like bodily health, spiritual health will suffer too without proper exercise and balance.

This past year, I struggled with anger at others...for lies, for manipulation, for selfishness, greed, for laziness, for inconsideration and ungratefulness, for being rude and hurtful. My thoughts were negative and my heart was giving up...nobody cares but about themselves. The people we used to respect were no longer deserving of it; those in authority and in places of example and role models and power. Gone are the days when teachers cared and taught respect, courtesy, and morals. The days of judges, police, and those in office having real concern for integrity, justice, and honesty are a thing of the past. Employers who were appreciative of the employee and they in turn were loyal to them--a memory of yesteryear. In the religious life, the spirits were just as corrupted. I began to lose that burning desire for truth, goodness, love and salvation for others. The sorrows of suffering good people were mounting. There were so many prayers sent up and tears cried out...it just grew more intense. After awhile, the zeal in my own life began to wane.

I am human, my heart hurts too. I get tired of being used, manipulated, lied to and taken for granted. My needs are no less than anyone else's. Rude and inconsiderate people anger me...and so my feelings demanded attention as well. Then my thoughts turned negative, my mouth spouting things, and my concern for others turning cold.

It bothers me, I go to church with our sons knowing, after they graduate, they may not continue...that my older son still resists, my spouse is no closer than 17 yrs. ago...my stepson and his wife still keep me on the "outside" as if I am out to hurt them in some way. My friends are faring no better than me. For all the reading, praying, trying to keep my values, and to live a Spirit-filled life...nothing changed...and so bit by bit...the covering over my heart began to thicken.

Time became elusive because I let technology eat it up. Everyone is on facebook. I was so out of it that I didn't even know most of the movie and music stars who got awards because I didn't watch enough tv or listen to secular radio to know who was who. I was now learning what everyone else knows. I began to immerse myself into the life of the world...that is where everyone else is. I was miserable....angry ...and fearful. This is not my home.

I woke up today with an earache in my good ear and I thought of my sister who had lost her hearing after a bad sinus infection, and it ocurred to me that I could end up totally deaf, which was always a possibility, but one I pushed away in my mind. How would I hear that beautiful music that lifts me up so much? How would I communicate? Nobody learned sign for my nephew, they aren't going to for me. I began to realize how unthankful I had become, and how much I had taken for granted. Began to think of how I listened to music and all the times God had spoken thru it! Found myself praying, confessing, praising, and crying....for my first Love!

I didn't realize how calloused my heart was becoming...until He brought to mind how He began this journey with me! All the memories came flooding back, in how He courted me, wined and dined me, and led me into the most glorious relationship! He became the Spouse who was the better half of me, the Father that never hurt me, the Friend that was always available and understood me, the Purpose and Meaning for my life, the Joy and Hope in all things...good and bad! He was the Peace in turmoil, the Truth in confusion, the Light in darkening depressions, the Strength in the Trials, the Goodness in the midst of evil. Indeed, His Kingdom is not of this world--and neither am I as long as He is in me. The Scriptures warned me this morning about quenching His Spirit...I was allowing the flame to flicker down...

I am going back to my first Love! Praying all of that "honeymoon giddyness" returns, that specialness, and soul-filling Love pours out of my heart, my mouth and my life! I didn't care if people thought I was crazy then, so why not experience that "crazy" again!!! Listening to that music that spoke to me before, reading the verses that corrected me, and praying with discipline and fervor....getting back into His Light and onto His Path! I cannot change how the world is or how others behave...but I can control my own soul and my own journey...and I missed the One who is Love!