mother’s breast and both of them settle into a celestial state of peace.
Our spiritual rebirth is also traumatic. The Church is our spiritual mother,
and the “six days of labor,” that is, the stages the Church in us goes through in
the process of bringing forth a new angel for heaven, are not easy. But they end
in a Sabbath of peace.
“A woman when she brings forth has sorrow, because her hour has come:
but when the child is born, she remembers no more the affliction, for joy that
a man is born into the world.” (John 16:21)
In the course of our life in this world, moments of intense difficulty and
pain may cause us to despair and rage against God or question the existence of
God. But these are just moments, especially in comparison with eternity, and
in the next life will soon be forgotten.
Even in this world they become increasingly distant memories as our
minds are more and more occupied by heaven.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no
more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the
former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4
(WEO)
‘the lord god made them all’
One of the most fascinating books I’ve read lately is A Short History of Nearly
Everything by Bill Bryson. It is a grand attempt to probe the mysteries and
marvels of creation – from the enormity of the universe to the infinitesimal
atom.
Bryson explores the breadth of science in a readable, informative,
entertaining style, such as: how we know how old the earth is and what it
weighs; how many factors combine in our solar system to make life on earth
possible; how we know more about outer space than what is in the depths of
the ocean; and the incredible combination of trillions of particles that make
us who we are.
But it is important to note what kind of a book this is, and what it is not.
In its 478 pages God is mentioned only once or twice, and just in passing. God
does not appear in the extensive Index. Neither, needless to say, does Emanuel
Swedenborg, who might have helped fill in some answers. This is just a book
about science.
Of course, God’s role in all this is absolute but that is a different book,
waiting to be written. We can fill in for ourselves how God is the source and
sustainer of every aspect of creation: “The universe is like a stage on which
we are continually being exhibited evidences that there is a God.” – True
Christianity 12
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