Jesus said to them, "Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:34-36 NRSV Bible)
Jesus was saying, in our scripture reading today, that you can't make assumptions about heaven on the basis of what life on earth is like. As wonderful as marriage is, you still can't compare it to the quality of relationship we will have in God's presence.

Humorist Garrison Keillor in his delightful descriptions of the people in his fictional hometown of Lake Woebegone, tells how difficult it will be for some of us to deal with the kind of perfection we will find in God's presence.

He writes, "My people aren't paradise people. We've lived in Minnesota all our lives and it took a lot out of us. My people aren't sure if we'll even like paradise: not sure that perfection is all it's cracked up to be. My people will arrive in heaven and stand just inside the gate, shuffling around. 'It's a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be,' we'll think. We'll say, 'No, thank you, we can't stay for eternity, we'll just sit and have a few minutes of bliss with you and then we have to get back.'"

Some of us may react the way these people did, because heaven will be far more wonderful than we can ever imagine. It will be a place free of the heartaches of this life, and we will fully understand God's perfect love. Oh yes, we are not perfect, but we have been perfected through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Dear Jesus, please be in my life today and always, so that I may be made perfect in the sight of God. In your name I pray. Amen.

Ron Newhouse

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