heaven?

After decades of conservative Christian upbringing, I arrived at a point in my life where I began to question this way of thinking and believing. One of the early problems I had with Christianity was the belief in hell and eternal damnation. This bothered me and I eventually rejected it completely. But recently, I started questioning the existence of heaven.

Have you ever considered that our ability to enjoy something is based on being able to compare the pleasure something brings us with the misery of not having it? How can we know that a movie or a book is good, unless we've experienced a movie or book that was bad? How do we know that this meal is delicious unless we've tasted one that was awful? How can we know we are happy unless we've known what it means to be sad? Our joy at having a healthy baby comes largely from knowing that the possibility existed for the baby to be born unhealthy or deformed. ETC...... I'm sure I'm doing a poor job of expressing this, but it seems to me that it is the difficult and unfortunate situations in life that help us to enjoy the good times.

Imagine someone born on a primitive but beautiful, lush, tropical island. He has everything he needs and everyone around him has everything they need. They are never hungry, sick, lonely, or sad. One day is like every other. They don't have to work hard for anything as food grows all around and there is plenty for everyone. The weather is perfect; never too hot or too cold. Do they even know they are happy? I could enjoy this way of life for a couple of weeks as it would be a welcome break from the "grind". But I think I'd soon get bored!

So carrying this thought through to heaven..... Heaven is usually described as a place where there is no suffering, no sadness, no hunger, no tears. But isn't it the struggle to work through the bad times that brings us the most joy in this life? Can I really be happy living forever in a place where every day is just like the last? Where there is no opportunity to help those less fortunate (yes, I know it sounds awful, but helping the less fortunate is really all about the good feeling it gives you), no opportunity for growth, no more lessons to be learned? It would be like driving on a smooth highway in a fast car in a straight line forever and ever. I think this sounds horrible!!!

I'd like my readers to think about this and share their thoughts with me. I'm asking because, well...... I'm on a journey and I'd really like to know.....