The path to heaven begins on earth.

Just as a garden must be cultivated to bear fruit, the soul must be purified to enter the kingdom. As Christians, we are taught to transcend the conceptual dichotomy of 'before' and 'after' death, and to remove the notion that we will only find God after death, in heaven. Instead we are urged to see that our relationship with God is not divided into these separate states but is in fact a continuous reality, and one that begins now, in the present moment. 

Jesus taught that the kingdom of heaven is not a distant promise but a present reality for those who prepare their hearts. 

Matthew 5:8

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God”

This is more than a statement of a future reward, it is a revelation of spiritual vision in the present. To see God is to perceive his presence, to experience the divine and to awaken to the path of Christ in this life. We are to prepare ourselves now to enter into the kingdom with a pure heart, with Lent being a profound opportunity to shed negative aspects of our being, to remove our established connection with the material fallen world and to nurture the divine spark that exists within each and everyone of us. To meet with heaven's eternal grace we must first walk the path of God, as children of light even in our mortal form. These are lessons for the spirit. 

Ephesians 4:22-24

“Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

We are continually shown that this transformation, this relationship with God, this pathway to heaven, is not reserved for the afterlife, it begins now. A heart that is purified through love and  compassion is one that resonates with the divine laws of God, mercy and righteousness are the language of Holy Spirit. The soul that embodies these ideals of heaven on earth will naturally ascend to it in the next life. Just as Christ becomes resurrected, we are instructed to follow suit. 

John 11:25

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.”

If heaven is not being cultivated within the heart whilst living, how can one expect to dwell in it after death? Our mission as Christians is to embody the teachings of Christ, to spread love but also experience it ourselves, so we cleanse our spirits and meet the purity of all that is good. 

Heaven is a divine reality that we must enter now, so that when our earthly journey ends, we do not approach it as strangers but as those already at home.