How We Make Church an Idol
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Do you live like you believe in life after death? In other words, do you live as though your current life is supposed to be heaven, or do you live like heaven is to come?
Do you demand heaven-like experiences from everything in your life now, such as your home, your family, your friendships, your career, your vacations, and your life experiences, or are you awaiting joyful fulfillment of all of your life’s desires in the life to come?
Fr. Ron Rolheiser, one of my favorite writers, wrote an interesting reflection on this topic for All Souls Day:
“Simply put, when we stop believing in life after death we tend to put too much pressure on this life to give us the full symphony. When we stop seeing our lives as being completed by something beyond the present world, it becomes natural to become more frustrated with the limits of our lives and to begin to demand, however subtly or unconsciously, that our spouses, children, friends, careers, jobs, and vacations give us something they can’t give, namely, complete fulfillment, full meaning, final satisfaction, joy beyond frustration, ecstasy, heaven.
When we stop, practically, believing in a heaven beyond this life, we too easily demand that we have a taste of heaven right now.”
If I’m honest with myself, I probably live like both. I live with the dream and hope that my life on earth will be a heaven-like experience, and at times I grow emotional when it fails to live up to that expectation. And especially when I’m disappointed, discouraged, or suffering, I often shift my focus to the life to come, where all of this brokenness will be washed away in God’s love.
All Souls Day reminds us of the souls that have passed. It also reminds us that our soul too will pass on someday.
Are we living in such a way that shows we believe there is life after death?
Katie Zalany lives in Cleveland Ohio. She is a Third Order Secular Franciscan (OFS), spiritual director, benefits/wellness leader, certified health and life coach, and volunteer. She is the creator of the ministry Women in Waiting | Made for Fruitfulness and is a published author. Her writing interests and focus areas include Gospel reflections, Franciscan spirituality, women's spirituality, prayer, and integration of faith and daily living.
