The world as path to heaven

BIBLICAL literature presents two opposing views on the

world. One is hating it or at least be cautious of it, as in “What
shall it profit a man, if he gains the whole, and suffer the loss of
his soul? (Mk 8,36)

            Church Fathers have enlarged that view as typified by some
words of St. Ignatius of Antioch: “No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms
of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ
Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in
place of us is the one object of my quest…Do not talk about Jesus
Christ as long as you love this world.”
            

            The other view is to love the world, because God himself
loves it, as in “For God so loved the world, as to give his only
begotten Son; that whosoever believes in him may not perish, but may
have life everlasting.” (Jn 3,16)

            I am sure that after stirring our mind a bit, we can see
that both views can be made compatible if we consider the contexts in
which they are mentioned. We have to hate the world insofar as it has
absorbed our own sinfulness and has become a source of temptation and
sin itself o tus.

            But we also have to love it because in the first place it
is also a creation of God like ourselves, and therefore is good, since
everything God created is good. The world is also good because that is
where God has placed us to work out our free choice of whether we want
to be God’s image and likeness and children of his as we wants us to
be, or not.

            In other words, the world is a place of trial, of making
our choice to be with God or not. It can be a path to heaven or a path
to hell. It would really depend on us as to how we deal with the
world. But as it is, it is originally good, though it has suffered
some damage and corruption due to our sin.

            It’s important that we don’t get confused and lost in this
very nuanced attitude we ought to have toward the world. We have to
outgrow the simplistic all-or-nothing mindset that forces us to choose
whether we are for the world or against it.

            As a creation of God, everything in it can and should
actually lead us to him. Nothing in it is non-relatable to God.
Everything in it comes from him and belongs to him. There is no dead
spot in it where God is absent or irrelevant.

            Our sciences, arts and technologies can only discover the
laws and the ways of nature that have been created by God. We do not
create these natural laws. We just discover them and make use of them.

            As such, we have to at least thank God for whatever
usefulness we can find in the things of the world. But more than that,
we should try to discern how the things of this world play in the
all-embracing providence of God over his creation, since we also have
a role to play in that providence. God somehow makes us as his living
and loving instruments in governing the world.

            This is where we can say that the things of the world can
and should lead us to heaven. And even if the world has absorbed the
effects of our sins, it need not pose as an insurmountable problem to
us since it has already been redeemed by Christ.

            If we follow the teaching and example of Christ, we would
also know how to deal with the world that is now immersed in sin. Yes,
like Christ, we have to suffer and all that, but it is all worthwhile.
Anyway, as long as we truly identify ourselves with Christ, we would
also know how to suffer the way Christ suffered and died for us.

            In a way, we have reason to passionately love the world,
rather than being afraid and overcautious of it. If we have the love
of God for the world, there is nothing to be afraid of. Victory is
assured over all the negative things that can arise in our earthly
sojourn.

            We just have to acquire the mind and the spirit of Christ,
his will and his ways, which he actually gives in abundance through
his grace. If we pray, study the doctrine, develop the virtues, avail
of the sacraments, do apostolate, etc., the world can truly be our
path to heaven.