Suddenly, I don't mind going to hell

Last Sunday's sermon was rather thought provoking. Here's the key thought of the week:

When we go to heaven, will we have to give up the things that we like here on earth?

And, by 'things we like', it can be quite a lot of things. For example, we might like to eat. A lot. Okay, so I'm a food person, but I mean, buffets are fun right? And despite the guilty tinge of "I gained too much calories", there's also this sense of immense satisfaction and pleasure at the same time. I don't mean to say that gorging yourself on food all day everyday is a good thing - it's bad for your health, in any case! But stuffing yourself with food once in a while *can* be a very gratifying experience.

Then again, gluttony is a sin. Oops. No more buffets in heaven. How devastating! (Does this mean, by the way, that chocolate is out of the equation too??) Or worse, since we will never be hungry or thirsty, does that mean we'll never get to eat again?? *horrors*

There's a lot of speculation about what we can or can't do in heaven, but one thing is pretty certain though - There will be no sin. There will be no sorrow or pain. Ever.

Sounds good, doesn't it? But hold on a second. Won't that just be absolutely boring? If we think about life and all its ups and downs, isn't it because we've experienced the bad that we can appreciate the good? And if we never sin because our new body just isn't made to sin, then won't we just be a new kind of robot?

I mean, we enjoy moments of being right with God now. But there are times when we break away from this intimacy with Him. And sometimes, we break away from Him on purpose. What happens if we aren't (or don't want to be) role model citizens on heaven? Actually, why do we sometimes have this desire to disobey God? Is it because Satan's minions are luring us away? When these temptations are gone, will we desire wholeheartedly for God? And if we all want to be role model citizens in heaven, aren't we just robots with no choice then?

Are we truly 'free' to bask in God's glory and beauty in heaven? If there is no temptation or freedom to choose to disobey, is this really free choice?

Another scary thought - What if, in the future, you can choose to experience only good or bad? Given that good will be boring and bad would be torturous, I guess I'd go for good. Actually, if I look at it from this perspective, suddenly this world feels like we've got the best of both worlds... literally.

What say you? Shout out your thoughts!

Images by thealliterativeallomorph.blogspot.com