Lately I have been meditating on what is it that I exactly believe about hell. Clearly this subject is too big in peoples lives in particular within the Institution for me to be able to explain all my feelings about it in just one post. That said this is what I have uncovered so far.
I see both heaven and hell as a result. Many would say that they are the result of how you have chosen to live your life and whether you have prayed certain prayers or not. This of course makes sense to our dualistic minds however I believe if we want to really understand this subject we need to look much deeper than just our mind. Let me explain. As a former coach to some of the best players in the tennis world I am only too aware that the minute you focus on the end result is the minute you invite fear into the equation. Take for example if when I sit down to talk to my player about a match I continuously focus on the result at the end of the match. Over and over I bring this up and put it in a way that basically invites fear into the equation. Yes the player might win now and then but they will never develop and realize their full potential within this approach.
If on the other hand I don’t mention the result at all but just ask them to stay present and play one point at a time focusing on certain things no matter how well or not they do then I automatically remove any fear of failure at the end of the match as I am helping the player to see:
a) That a players career, like a persons life, is built and shaped by much more than just one result.
b) That if we focus on just playing and taking care of what is front of us with faith and trust, then the result will take care of itself at the end of the day.
Jesus came to deconstruct hell and help us to see the Kingdom. He came to share with us what God loves and likes and it certainly has nothing to do with living a life whose whole aim is to try and stay out of hell at the end of it. Jesus didn’t speak anywhere near about how life finishes as much as he shared how it begins. As with all result driven approaches fear will always be a close companion in our journey and much of our resources and energies will be spent battling this end result and in the process we will miss our life as a whole.
I don’t know about you but it sounds to me that hell is something we don’t need to die to experience as approaching our spiritual journeys through results will only cause our lives to be a living hell!
The journey continues…
Have a great week!
-pablo-
Photo by Ryan.
