Last Wednesday I felt like being in Heaven.  Friends that I met over four decades ago, three decades ago, two decades ago, and over a decade ago, came to pay their last respect to my father-in-law Peter Subadya.  I guess this is what Heaven must be like: full of laughter and joy; where our minds are filled with fond memories and hearts are full of gratitude to God.  In Heaven not only will we meet those we met decades ago, but we’ll also meet folks we had neither met nor heard of.  So, it is better than reunion; it is reunion plus union.

In his book, No Grown-Ups in Heaven, Art Greer shares his belief that there will be no adults in Heaven; there will only be children, as plainly stated by Our Blessed Lord in Matthew 18:3, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”  Of course, both Jesus Our Lord and Art Greer are not talking about it literally, but rather figuratively.  In The Message, Eugene Peterson translates the next verse in such a way that we will not miss the meaning of “children” here, “Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God’s Kingdom.”  In Heaven there will only be children—those who possess a simple and elemental faith.

One of the qualities of children, as pointed out by Greer, is that they simply live.  They don’t think about homework while playing.  When they cry, they just cry as they wish—loudly.  Children simply live. On the contrary, we, adults, think about work while we are home, and when we cry, we will look around to make sure no one is watching.  Unlike children who simply live, we, adults, simply think and worry.

Children belong to Heaven because they can enjoy God.  Heaven is a fun place, so it is perfect for children.  We, who cannot enjoy God, are not good fit for Heaven.  I am afraid, we might even ruin it.

Pastor Paul