And then what?

Someone on "Above Top Secret" (a website) asked what happens after we go to heaven. People's answers were interesting. Lots of talk about kicking back and enjoying. I am surprised by people's views of heaven. They view heaven as club med. I have read my bible and I know that it says in heaven all tears are wiped away; but, it does not say that we just go back to being lumps.

If heaven were just laying around having sex and food then what would the point of this experience be? Life is tough, we face many tragedies. The same question applies to hell. Non-stop torture has no value either.

Let us consider the nature of God. We are told he is a loving God who cares about us. So, why are we allowed to make each other so miserable? That question is rather easy, free will. If we did not have free will then we would not have our own personality, we would not choose who we wanted to be. Many of us do not, we give up our free will in exchange for goodies. Still, it is our choice.

Learning to manage our free will, learning to be with one another is just the beginning. It is the school that we are in. We decide what and whether or not we learn. Some choose pure selfishness, to be their own gods, to do as they will and not worry about anyone else. Their heaven is complete control. I have said before, if all you care about is yourself then eventually that is all you have. That is my definition of hell, solitary confinement.

Heaven, for me, is people caring as much about each other than about themselves. In that heaven we would seek to spend as much time with each other, continuing to learn and grow because each of us could share our unique perspectives with each other. This leaves us with the vast majority of people, cookie chasers.

I would assume that they get neither heaven nor hell, they get to try again till they define themselves. Or perhaps they do all become one having eternally given up their individuality. No conflict, to be sure; but, little variety. A group think experience of the universe.

No matter where one ended up, in my three scenarios, there is still a universe to experience. Earth is just one stop. Maybe life is just like water where we all find our own level. Free will would call for such a thing. The three strike rule might apply, you get three chances to choose, then you get your final answer.

No matter what the answer is, an eternity of rest and fulfilling urges does not make sense. I still like the story Jim Stafford told. A man died and went with St. Peter, he was taken to hell. In hell there was a beautiful table laid out, it had all the best food and everyone sat around it with three foot long forks and spoons on their hands. No matter how desperately they attempted to feed themselves, they could not. The man was then taken to heaven, he saw the exact same thing, except in heaven they were feeding each other. Who have you fed today?