Devotion
There is plenty of room for everyone!
David Jacobs
What do you imagine when you picture paradise? Most of us probably imagine a scene from a movie or cartoon, with angels flying around playing harps, and a gigantic human-like man with a beard that is God. The same can be said for hell: a red devil running around with a pitchfork surrounded by flames. Obviously I have no idea whether or not these depictions are accurate and honestly, they are of no importance to me at all. In fact, I believe that these depictions are a disservice, taking away from the more important aspects of the Heavenly Kingdom. Remember this: there is plenty of room in Heaven for all of us. Christ is waiting for us and has shown us the way. However, we should not forget another point: there is also plenty of room in hell.
The Heavenly Paradise that the disciples often describe, as the important theologian Thomas Aquinas once noted, though often given human shape or proportion, is beyond anything we are capable of imagining. How heaven and hell look is not what we should be focusing on. What Christ says about the Heavenly Kingdom is important. Do not be troubled, do not be afraid; God is waiting and has made a place for us in Heaven. Christ lived to give us an example, so that each and everyone who lifts theirs heart up to the Lord and follows in Christ's footsteps shall be welcomed. Thanks be to God.
Prayer
My God Almighty, I bask in the knowledge that you shall welcome us to Heaven, knowing that I have a place next to you. How lucky I am, your lowly servant, clearly unworthy of such blessing! I shall do everything I can, O Lord above, to repay the debt that I owe you, a debt that all of existence owes you for sacrificing your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, so that we may live forever. In his Holy name I pray, Amen.
Devotion
Abraham is Father of All
Frances Taylor
There are questions in every age about the importance of the Old Testament for Christians. Abraham is considered to be the Father of Faith for Jews, Christians and Muslims. We forget that it was Abraham who believed in the doctrine of only one God. It is through him and his descendants that this tradition comes down to us. Another fact that we can overlook is that Jesus was Jewish. He was born a Jew, lived as a Jew, died, rose and ascended into heaven as a Jew. Because we believe that he was the Messiah, the Christ, and we follow him, we are called Christian. Without the Old Testament, we wouldn't understand the promise of salvation; we wouldn't understand why it was important for Jesus to be of the family of King David. We would not understand his teaching either, because Jesus quoted from Scripture – the Old Testament – frequently. He told us that he came to fulfill the Scriptures, not to abolish them. In the same way, we can ...
