The whole idea of heaven, while hope inspiring, often corrodes and hollows out our everyday life. It is interesting to note that Jesus rarely spoke about heaven. To him, it seemed much more important and urgent to deal with life here and now. Heaven in the here and now.
“Repent, for the kingdom of god is at hand”
So what did he mean?
Turn around, because you are all about to die?
No, Jesus clearly instructs his followers that “the kingdom is not here or there so one can point at it, rather the kingdom of god is inside of you”. We also need to understand that the kingdom of god and the kingdom of heaven is the same thing, it is not a place we can move to but a reality we can wake up to.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that there is nothing there after we die, there may very well be some elevated, transcendant reality after this life. All I am saying is that that is not the point. The point is that the kingdom is here and now and if we are completely focussed on then and there we will miss it!
Not only do our choices matter eternally they also matter right here, right now!
Another word used in the New Testament for the kingdom of god/heaven is life or eternal life (aionos zoe). This is primarily used by the author to John’s gospel, who hardly ever mentions the kingdom at all. Rather John’s Jesus offers life and life in abundance. This is the gospel, the good news, that we do not have to wait for pie in the sky when we die. We can have it now, it is accessible here.
“Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the holy spirit?”
You are the container, the channel of divine love into your community. You are the kingdom, the church, the body. You are it! Right here and right now.
“Above all guard your hearts, because from your heart flows all of life”
So if we are to understand this proverb in the light of John’s high Christology and immanent eschatology then we understand that the point of life is living it. When we simply live life, life flows from our hearts, or to substitute the term: Heaven flows from our hearts and encloses those that are around us. Life is not a warm up for heaven, beacuse, to quote the song “heaven is a place on earth”. This life is it, this life, right here right now, is where we find heaven or hell, where we live through divine bliss or diabolical misery. We just need to wake up and smell the coffee (or in my case, smell the Roibosh Paradise).
There is no dress rehersal, no trial run, no qualifying round; Whatever you are living right now is the main event, the real thing, your grand performance.
So today, on this unique beautiful day in all of eternity, let’s choose to love!
- Love is not a theory
- Jesus is not a religion
- Christianity is not a checklist
- Church is not an adress
- The Bible is not a book of doctrines
- Community is not a meeting
- Grace has no exceptions
- Ministry is not a program
- Art is not carnal
- Women are not inferior
- Our humanity is not the enemy
- Sinner is not our identity
- Tattoos are not evil
- Peace is not a circumstance
- Science is not secular
- Life is not a warm-up for heaven
- The world is not without hope
- The mind is not infallible
- God is not a belief system
- Feelings are not dangerous and unreliable
- Self actualisation is not self-worship
- Seeing the divine in all things is not heretical
- Loving the earth is not satanic
