b'26WALT SHELTONand time. An additional underlying component of the ques-tion appears to be that going to one place or the other is a consequenceofsometypeofdecision,affirmation,and/or conversion at a point in time. More often than not, I suspect the person asking the question probably has a blueprint for such that more than likely corresponds to what that person has confessed (or worse yet, was told to say).Although I have a strong belief in an afterlife, the futuristic heaven or hell inquiry is disjointed. Lets be positive and focus on heaven. It is as much or more about now than the future. As Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, our eye should be on today without a worry for even tomorrow (Mt 6:34). More importantly, our focus should be on our neighbors pres-ent needs. If anyone should pose a simplistic question about heaven or hell and tomorrow, perhaps it should be the one in need asking: If I die today because you did not help me, where might you be headed?We live here and now, so what does heaven have to do with us? It depends on our definition. In Simply Christian (Harper Collin 2006), N. T. Wright explains that heaven is Gods realm while earth is mankinds realm. Heaven is not out there as if we could board a space shuttle and head toward it. Rather, it is very close, as if through a thin membrane. Per Wright, Jesus ushered in an overlap of heaven and earth and encouraged his followers to be part of it.Jesus started his ministry by announcing that the kingdom of God was at hand and then showed the kingdom to us in his life and teachings. In particular, his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 57 and other key teachings invite us to be Gods agentshereandnowtocontinueusheringinandrealizing the kingdom. This means living in Gods realmheavenand'