Wednesday, April 14, 2004
heaven by los lonely boys
i love this song for its subtle reggae beat and the great harmonization of the voices. i finally found the lyrics for this song and i love it even more:
Save me from this prison
Lord, help me get away
'Cause only you can save me now
From this misery
Well I've been lost in my own place
And I'm getting' weary
How far is heaven?
And I know that I need to change
My ways of living
How far is heaven?
Lord, can you tell me?
I've been locked up way too long
In this crazy world
How far is heaven?
I just keep on prayin', Lord
I just keep on livin'
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
How far is heaven?
(I just gotta know how far it is)
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
'Cause I know there's a better place
In this place I'm livin'
How far is heaven?
So I just got to show some faith
And just keep on givin'
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord can you tell me)
How far is heaven?
(I just gotta know how far it is)
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
How far is heaven?
I just gotta know how far
I just wanna know how far
some people have the impression that religion is to keep people in line and keep them behaving in a "good" way. that gets kind of vague because "goodness" can be an arbirtrary term. i'm sure the suicide bombers of the twin towers thought that what they were doing was "good" because they were doing it for their religion. this impression stems from the "reward" that people think they will receive from doing good deeds. moreover, some people think that they will be rewarded for their good deeds especially after persevering through misery, and God somehow owes them the bit of happiness they're searching for. it's the sentiment of okay, God, i did this for You. it sucked, but i followed You. now you better give me what i've been wanting, cuz i suffered for You. now, this sounds like sacrifice, doesn't it? and isn't that a good thing? but it's a very manipulative sort of sacrifice. it's the conditional sacrifice, saying i'll do this for you, if you do this for me
that's not what our Faith is about. it's not just to keep people in line. and it's not just to be rewarded. the point is that you love Him so much and so dearly that you recognize Him in everyone and everything in your life-good or bad, unconditionally. and because you see Him in everyone and everything, you treat everyone well, you do good deeds for other people, because you love Him and you love everyone (yes, even your enemies). you love, not because you will receive a reward, but just simply because you love Him and them. when you continue to love and forgive without counting the costs to yourself, without wanting a reward for your deeds, without wanting even recognition... that is how you will reach heaven.
and what is heaven? it's not just the happiness of getting what you want, but it's being with Him, Whom you love, He who is Love. it's the everlasting joy of being with Him forever and ever.
Save me from this prison
Lord, help me get away
'Cause only you can save me now
From this misery
Well I've been lost in my own place
And I'm getting' weary
How far is heaven?
And I know that I need to change
My ways of living
How far is heaven?
Lord, can you tell me?
I've been locked up way too long
In this crazy world
How far is heaven?
I just keep on prayin', Lord
I just keep on livin'
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
How far is heaven?
(I just gotta know how far it is)
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
'Cause I know there's a better place
In this place I'm livin'
How far is heaven?
So I just got to show some faith
And just keep on givin'
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord can you tell me)
How far is heaven?
(I just gotta know how far it is)
How far is heaven?
(Oh, Lord, can you tell me?)
How far is heaven?
I just gotta know how far
I just wanna know how far
some people have the impression that religion is to keep people in line and keep them behaving in a "good" way. that gets kind of vague because "goodness" can be an arbirtrary term. i'm sure the suicide bombers of the twin towers thought that what they were doing was "good" because they were doing it for their religion. this impression stems from the "reward" that people think they will receive from doing good deeds. moreover, some people think that they will be rewarded for their good deeds especially after persevering through misery, and God somehow owes them the bit of happiness they're searching for. it's the sentiment of okay, God, i did this for You. it sucked, but i followed You. now you better give me what i've been wanting, cuz i suffered for You. now, this sounds like sacrifice, doesn't it? and isn't that a good thing? but it's a very manipulative sort of sacrifice. it's the conditional sacrifice, saying i'll do this for you, if you do this for me
that's not what our Faith is about. it's not just to keep people in line. and it's not just to be rewarded. the point is that you love Him so much and so dearly that you recognize Him in everyone and everything in your life-good or bad, unconditionally. and because you see Him in everyone and everything, you treat everyone well, you do good deeds for other people, because you love Him and you love everyone (yes, even your enemies). you love, not because you will receive a reward, but just simply because you love Him and them. when you continue to love and forgive without counting the costs to yourself, without wanting a reward for your deeds, without wanting even recognition... that is how you will reach heaven.
and what is heaven? it's not just the happiness of getting what you want, but it's being with Him, Whom you love, He who is Love. it's the everlasting joy of being with Him forever and ever.
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quotable quotes
-
"To try is to risk failure. But risk must be taken because the
greatest hazard of life is to risk nothing. The person who risks
nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid
suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change,
grow, live, and love."
~unknown
"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues."
~ Abraham Lincoln
"live a life that others will remember years from now, NOT because it pointed to you but because of how it pointed to the One who made you."
~ Mark Hart, the Bible Geek
"we grow up learning to become self-reliant, but really we need to be God-reliant"
"we could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very nicely in the same box"
"never wound hearts that love u, never give them the endless pain, because wounded hearts are like roses that never bloom"
"there comes a time when we have to stop loving someone not because that person has stopped loving us but because we have found out that they'd be happier if we'd let go"
