We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low.
Bishop Desmond Tutu
Don’t miss the very important point that is being made here. God does not in fact have low standards, not when it comes to what we are capable of or what we are meant to be. As a matter of fact, His expectations are most infinitely high. He expects a lot from us, far more the world expects from us, and sometimes than what we expect from ourselves. He expects our happiness, a meaningful purpose, and a well lived life of no regret.
I think it comes with the territory of being, well, the creator of everything. His standards are infinitely divine, yet He seems to have a soft spot for sinners. He has extremely low standards when it comes to I told you sos, and what could have beens. He has infinite patience and big shoulders on which to lay your burdens.
It is a good time to be a sinner.
It is a good day to realize that you past mistakes do not define or abstract the road you wish to take. Ok. That may not be entirely true. Some mistakes may in fact slow you down, but human beings, since the beginning of time, have shows again and again, that there is nothing that cannot be overcome, there is nothing crooked that cannot be made straight, and there is no-one that is beyond redemption.
But you have to want it. You have to walk towards it. You have to accept forgiveness and let go of the guilt that numbs and stops you from leaping forward.
The fault lies with us, not the outside world, nor the creator of the universe. The choice to be fully human and become fully alive lies within us. It is a commitment only you and I can make. We are the ones that have to accept that our failures are events that belong to the passage of time, and our realized dreams, depend on our future movement, not the path that now lies behind us.
It is never to late to turn back. It is never too late to begin. It is never too late to quit again. It is never too late to reconcile, to forgive, to accept, to dream, and to belong. It is never too late precisely because of the low standards of success we are all afforded.
We are given a rather large sandbox. We are loved enough that we are free to explore this sandbox. We need to observe children a bit more closely as we get older, and notice how very little stops them from trying or moving on from something. We need to discover our second innocence. We need to reconnect to our childhood dreams. We need to accept the low standards by which we will be judged, and take on the high standards by which we should live our lives.
Don’t say you can’t, or that you know, or that it’s too late, or that we just don’t understand. It is you who can, you who has much to learn, you who has plenty of time, and you who is a touch stubborn and full of yourself.
Don’t be surprised who you’re going to meet in heaven. Accept the fact that you already have your invitation, and if you do, all that remains is for you to live up to it, and help others to find their tarnished invitation too.
