I see it all the time on the web. Usually off to the right hand side of the page is a list of stories labeled something like “Trending Now or “Most viewed.” It's usually a story about somebody in Hollywood I'm supposed to be interested in…but am not.
Now here’s my question: Why can't heaven “go viral”? Why can't it be an internet craze? That's right, heaven. In a Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings world so intrigued with wonder…why does heaven get so little press?
The easy answer is, “Well, we live in a post-Christian culture.
But I'm not buying that.
I say the reason the world has little interest in heaven is because Christians have very little interest in heaven. But what would account for our disinterest in the city whose streets are paved with gold?
Let me throw out a few answers.
One. We have too much gold here to long for heaven. Too much stuff. Too many conveniences. Too many options for fun-fun-fun….that heaven seems a tad bit boring, quite frankly.
Reason number two. We don't sing about it. It's an established fact that whatever passions dominate a culture dominate their music. In America, that means sex, beauty, fame and money. As for Christian music, there's very little about heaven—one more proof it doesn't dominate our thinking.
There's a third reason why heaven is not a buzz word in our culture. That's because we don't really preach about it. When was the last time you heard a sermon series on the wonder of heaven?
So if Christians aren't pondering heaven….and their spiritual leaders aren't pondering heaven…and very little of the Christian movement's music ponders heaven, it's no wonder that the culture at large gives any thought to heaven.
But the whole thing strikes me as odd. Those who claim they are going there…often have very little interest in heaven. Those who have the most to gain….are largely complacent.
It's time to rethink heaven. Or maybe just….THINK heaven.