heaven

"Now, you are the body of Christ and individually members of it."  + 1 Corinthians 12:27–31 

People ask me, from time to time: What do you think about heaven?  What do you think happens after we die?  And I say: Well, I don’t think about it, at least not very often. 

That’s true, I think, for many people who grew up in the mainline Protestant world.  We spend more time talking about this life, this earth, and what we are called to do right here.  More and more, though, I believe something that you can’t see, prove, or point to. 

I am convinced, more than ever, that we are the body of Christ.  I believe the apostle Paul when he says we, the community, we, the church (and not just my church, but the church) are the actual hands and feet of Christ. We are the place where he is resurrected, where he lives on - whenever, wherever we are living out his teachings. 

When we use our hands to soothe a child or write a letter to save the earth - we are the hands of Christ.  When we use our voices to challenge hate speech and to welcome everyone, freely - we are the voice of Christ. 

Death does not take that role from us.  Rather, in death the boundaries fall away.  So the selfishness, inwardness, insecurity, and fear that keep me from acting, that keep me bottled up inside myself, are gone. The physical limits we have - we can’t be everywhere, we can’t be cooking for the homeless at the same time we are in Topeka lobbying for the homeless - those limits fall away.  For in death, we are no longer bound by these bodies.  Death, rather than ending our place in the body of Christ, solidifies it. 

That’s what I think happens after we die.  But honestly, I still don’t think about it very much. 

God of all that we can see and touch, and what we can only imagine, thank you for taking us into your heart and into your work forever.  Amen.

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Lisa Ruokis included this quote from Shakespeare with her photo, “The love of heaven makes one heavenly.”  Thank you, Lisa!  And, thanks to the amazing Holly McKissick who mesmerizes us with her words and her faith.