In my last post, The Values Factor I mentioned my great passion for making the Kingdom’s attainability starting right here and now, known, and desired. Many who call themselves Christians have never even considered the possibility of becoming saints when they die, never mind becoming one in this life.
What if I were to tell you that not only is it possible, but it’s actually what we were created for. Anything short of this lofty goal is a total waste of a life.
God created Paradise for His Children, the saints…it’s our home as had been His plan from the very beginning. Even though on this side of eternity many of us unfortunately have wasted much time trudging through the desert or even stuck in Egypt … it doesn’t take away from the fact that heaven… our promised land is ours to inhabit…entrance was forfeited for a time when sin entered the world but it was bought back for us at an incredible price by the King Himself and although we won’t experience its totality until this life is complete, we can have a share in it right now.
So what does the kingdom look like in the day to day? Does it mean we all have to be absolutely perfect in everything we say and do and all look a certain way? Perfect house, perfect cooking, perfect everything? Maybe a halo to boot? Ummm…not quite.
Worldly perfectionism is NOT holiness. And THAT is the only criteria for inhabiting the Kingdom… we need to be holy just as Jesus is Holy! Maintaining a state of Grace!!
If we think of sin as specs of dirt on our glasses, it distorts our vision making us unable to even see the Kingdom, or see it only very faintly. Holiness or being in a state of Grace then is unobstructed vision.
This is why our Blessed Mother’s prayers on our behalf are so powerful. She was ‘full of grace’ as per the angel that approached her.
So how is this accomplished? Well, not by our own merits that’s for sure. If there had ever been even the smallest possibility of entering heaven based on our own good works, then Jesus wouldn’t have had to come and be crucified and die for us.
It’s only by His grace which He imparts to us first through our Baptism, that grants our sanctification and then is lived out through a life of faith.
This faith is not mere lip service, with all due respect to my Protestant friends.
Uttering a prayer is certainly a great start… but we’ll have to back it up with action…or what I like to call ‘Holy Obedience’.
Like Mary tells us in the Bible “do whatever He says”.
Jesus didn’t leave us to struggle on this earth on our own.
He left His church in charge of serving His people. Providing nourishment for the journey via the Sacraments. And He left us to live in community with one another and be a light in a world that is growing in darkness.
For further reading!!