The willingness to be redeemed is the price of entering the kingdom of heaven. A definition of this kingdom may be found in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" by Mary Baker Eddy (p. 590): "The reign of harmony in divine Science; the realm of unerring, eternal, and omnipotent Mind; the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme."
All of us, whether we realize it or not, desire the kingdom of heaven. It speaks of peace and contentment, of joy and success, of freedom from push, rush, impositions from others, and pressures of business and government, as well as freedom from fears of all kinds. Heaven is the desideratum of poet and farmer, banker and diplomat, homemaker and student, layman and soldier.
Only the varying concepts of mankind as to what this kingdom is and where it may be found cause men to have divers beliefs concerning the method of getting into this kingdom. Some think of heaven as entirely material, afar off in time and space; others, whose human consciousness has been undergoing a process of cleansing or redemptive rebirth, are learning how and where and when to find "the atmosphere of Spirit, where Soul is supreme."
