{"id":4399,"date":"2015-07-21T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T11:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/crywoof\/?p=4399"},"modified":"2015-07-18T09:13:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-18T14:13:09","slug":"how-can-there-be-no-suffering-in-heaven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/crywoof\/2015\/07\/how-can-there-be-no-suffering-in-heaven\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can There Be No Suffering in Heaven?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"For<\/a>
For He is like a refiner\u2019s fire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In a previous post I argued that free will allows the making of poor choices, and that poor choices* lead to suffering for one\u2019s self and for others, yet God valued that free will enough to allow suffering to follow from it.\u00a0 This led many people to ask the obvious question: what happens in Heaven?\u00a0 There\u2019s no suffering in Heaven, yet presumably we still have free will.\u00a0 How I can square my claim with that point of doctrine?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tricky question, because our knowledge of Heaven is so limited.\u00a0 Here\u2019s how I understand it.<\/p>\n

When we choose\u2014that is, when we exercise our free will\u2014we always choose something that seems good to us.\u00a0 That goodness might be real and worth choosing; it might be illusory; it might be real but with circumstances that make it a bad (that is, a sinful) choice.\u00a0 But here, we see God only through a glass, darkly.\u00a0 In Heaven, we will see God directly, God who is the ultimate infinite good and the source of all good, and we will choose Him every time.\u00a0 Our choices will be clear, and we will see clearly.\u00a0 We will see the good for the good, the bad for the bad, and the best for the best, and we will always choose the best.\u00a0 Hence, our choices will never lead to suffering.<\/p>\n

But wait! you cry.\u00a0 If that\u2019s how things are in Heaven, why doesn\u2019t God simply reveal Himself in all His goodness here on Earth?\u00a0 Seems simple: everyone would see God, and see what\u2019s truly good, and wouldn\u2019t make dumb mistakes.\u00a0 Seems that God could prevent all suffering on Earth after all!<\/p>\n

There are two reasons why this wouldn\u2019t work.\u00a0 First, having given us free will, God refuses to override it.\u00a0 We are given this time on Earth in order that we might choose freely: to love God, or to love ourselves more than God.\u00a0 Heaven will be populated (mostly, anyway*) by those who have already made that fundamental choice to love God first, and to trust in His goodness.\u00a0 For these, seeing God in Heaven will simply confirm that fundamental choice.<\/p>\n

The second reason is that He is like a \u201crefiner\u2019s fire\u201d, burning away all that isn\u2019t holy simply by His presence.\u00a0 For the unprepared sinner, being in God\u2019s full presence is no joy.\u00a0 Only those who have accepted the gift of God\u2019s grace\u2014those who have chosen to accept it\u2014and have been prepared can glory in God\u2019s presence.<\/p>\n

Looked at that way, we see that our finite time in this \u201cvale of tears\u201d is a mercy: it gives us time to prepare for Eternity.<\/p>\n

And this, not coincidentally, is why I write about these things.\u00a0 In a post a couple of months ago, I noted that while I wasn\u2019t trying to convert my atheist readers, I\u2019d be ecstatic if any of them came to know Christ.\u00a0 One commenter asked me why, and this is the answer: the time of preparation is short, and I\u2019d like to see you in heaven.<\/p>\n

____<\/p>\n

* I say \u201cmostly\u201d because there\u2019s the question about what happens to those who die unbaptized in infancy, prior to reaching the age of reason.\u00a0 As I understand it, the Church has made no definitive statement about this.\u00a0 When I was a kid I was told that they went to \u201cLimbo\u201d, a place of no suffering but no particular joy either.\u00a0 Limbo was never official teaching, so I\u2019m told, even if it was a common notion; Pope Benedict said some years ago that we don\u2019t know what happens but that it is reasonable to trust in God\u2019s love and mercy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

photo credit: image49109<\/a> via photopin<\/a> (license)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a previous post I argued that free will allows the making of poor choices, and that poor choices* lead to suffering for one\u2019s self and for others, yet God valued that free will enough to allow suffering to follow from it.\u00a0 This led many people to ask the obvious question: what happens in Heaven?\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1131,"featured_media":4401,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Can There Be No Suffering in Heaven?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a previous post I argued that free will allows the making of poor choices, and that poor choices* lead to suffering for one's self and for others, yet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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