"Heaven, once attained"

In reading the first few chapters of "The Great Divorce," I have gained a better understanding of the decisions that we must make in this life. In the preface to this novel, C.S. Lewis explains,

"If we insist on keeping Hell (or even earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell."

In saying these words, he teaches us that there is no in-between, there really is no purgatory where we wait for judgment day to come. Our fate lies in our day to day choices, our decisions that determine our destiny. We have to see things for what they are, to put things into perspective and realize that Heaven (and Hell) are what we make of it.

Lewis goes on to explain, "good and evil, when they are full grown, become retrospective."Man makes what he can of the world, which then translates eventually, to what he makes of life after death. It all begins before death, but, when the dead look back...

"The good man’s past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man’s past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. and that is why, at the end of all things, when the sun rises here and the twilight turns to blackness down there, the Blessed will say ‘We have never lived anywhere except Heaven,’ and the Lost, ‘We were always in Hell.’ And both will speak truly."

It is what we make of our lives each day, what we decide for ourselves that will determine us. If we can see the world for what it is, and make the best with what we have, by doing our best, all things will work together for our good. Eventually, life will be good if we can look past the stones and thorns and pebbles that poke and bother us.

To end, I have found that this little thought by Lewis sums this up perfectly.

"They say of some temporal suffering, ‘No future bliss can make up for it,’ not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory."

Christ did all to succor us, even atoning for our sins. He is the reason that we can change, that we can fight through the briars in our lives and make it all the better. What are we going to choose? Are we going to allow our sins and sorrows to disappear and take on the quality of Heaven? One day, it will all be worth it. God makes all the difference. The question is, will you allow Him to?