In my morning meditation,
I continued to bare my distress to the Lord about a recent conversation that
what awaits us following death is God’s punishment for our sinful lives; namely, that
we will suffer in the fires of purgatory and not enter heaven when we die. It’s not that I do not believe in the
importance of being purified before entering heaven; however, there seems to be a contradiction with the
following Scripture passages for those of us who repent and believe the Good
News. In Psalm 103:11, the psalmist
proclaims: “[as] the height of heaven above earth, so strong is [God’s] faithful
love for those who fear him. As the distance of east from west, so far from us
does he put our faults” and, in Is. 1:18, God says to us through the
prophet: “Though…[their] sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Is 1:18). As explained in a footnote in the Jerusalem
Bible on this passage, “the condition on which God insists is avowal of the sin
and repentance…and the inner conversion that this implies.” I believe that one who avows or admits
his/her sins and brings his/her sinful behavior into harmony with the Holy Will
of God is purified of that sin in the here and now through the
sacraments of reconciliation, Eucharist and the Anointing of the Sick. Furthermore, did Jesus not say to the good
thief on the cross “this day you will be with me in Paradise”? He did not say” You will be with me in
Paradise after you suffer in the burning fires of purgatory following your
death.” If his repentance and sincere
sorrow, if his admittance of his guilt and his suffering united with the
sufferings of Jesus’ on the cross were accepted as his purification and readiness to be in the
presence of God in eternity that very day, why is this not true for those of us
who sincerely repent and believe in
Jesus’ words to us in this very moment and on our death beds: “This day you
will be with me in Paradise.” I believe
it does. What is your belief?
No comments:
Post a Comment