As long as heaven consists of an infinite array of gifts, pleasures, and good things, then the entrance into heaven of someone who has a deathbed conversion will seem manifestly unjust to us who have labored long and hard on our Christian pilgrimage. However, if heaven is not about things but about God and entering into the peace and eternal joy of God’s very life—a reality that can never be quantified—then such concerns are irrelevant. Heaven is not the salary earned by a lifetime of labor in the vineyard, but the ineffable privilege and gift of receiving the fullness of God’s love for which our time on earth has prepared us. Those who have had even a hint of this love and the joy and peace bound up with it, will realize that if we are blessed to cross the threshold of heaven the last thing on our minds will be whether others who cross over with us deserve it or not!
Peggy Anderson says
Indeed, I’m hoping that no one will be left out of God’s love at the end of life. Whether one comes to God from childhood or reaches God on one’s deathbed, I’m hoping that all are welcome and no one feels resentful towards another.
Thanks, Fr. Joseph.