God, heaven, yadda, yadda
I feel a little like I’m cheating on God (ack! Evil Eye! finger flick!!), but if what’s swirling around in my head these days is true then I know I’m not. Not really.
If it’s true, then God isn’t some benevolent old man sitting on a cloud in the sky, angels fluttering around him and St. Peter stationed outside giant shining gates with a clipboard in one hand and his other resting on a black lever controlling a one-way chute to hell.
Of course, that can’t really be the truth either.
Our preconception about God, Heaven, yadda yadda…
That’s just an image we brand on our children’s malleable minds — probably because it was pounded into us at that age, too — but for what purpose? So we’ll be good? I’m pretty sure even non-Christian kiddos could understand right from wrong without the fear of everlasting fires, as long as they have good role models.
I’ve always wondered what heaven is really like. If hell is all that bad. Is the Catholic Purgatory real? At least it gives sinners a chance to “make it right” and get back to and through those pearly gates. (Right? It does, doesn’t it??)
And what about God? Is He old, young, ageless, faceless, raceless? Is He even a he or a she? … as a matter of fact, why do we even think an old man is the epitome of purity and goodness?
The most innocent humans are children. They accept our answers with blind faith (excluding the WhyWhyWhy stage, which I’m smack in the middle of, *yippee*), and live in the moment when tomorrow is “when I’m a 5-year-old” and yesterday was “back when I was a baby”, and Santa is always right around the corner.
A hug can fix even the biggest problem.
Imagine God were your child. What advice would you give Him about how to live a good life? What would you tell Him about life on Earth… and after?