It’s hard to see God in this world sometimes. You have to
really look for Him. The world’s evil is extremely prevalent and it can seem
like God is far away in a place called heaven.
Somewhere in my thinking, I’ve assumed that God created the
earth, hung around quite a bit in “olden times”, sent Jesus to die on the cross
and rise three days later, left to go prepare a place for us, and then
nothing…nothing until His glorious return.
When I was young, I was always afraid that Jesus would come
back before I got married and had kids. Although I would fervently pray for His
return on my way to the dentist! However, the last decade or so I would be perfectly
fine if Jesus came back right this second. I often long for heaven when the
weight of this world lies heavily on my shoulders.
One of my present-day heroes is Rob Bell. In his book, Velvet Elvis, he talks about “heaven coming to earth.” To be honest, I really
didn’t like this phrase at first. Heaven on earth?I cannot imagine this earth being heaven at
all. I don’t even want to think about the two having anything in common.
Slowly over the
years, this phrase stirred in my brain…
Heaven on earth…
This earth transforming to heaven one day…
A few years back, I studied heaven quite a bit and it made
me yearn for it even more. But it also made me somewhat stagnant in my life
because I just wanted to be in heaven. It would be the ultimate, quick-fix, extreme makeover.
So easy.
Everything.
Would.
Be.
Perfect.
In heaven-
- I wouldn’t compare
myself to others.
- I would fully
understand my self-worth in Christ Jesus.
- There would be no more
tears, fears or pain.
- I’d be reunited with
loved ones that have gone before me.
- I would be close to
God and Jesus would be my King.
- I wouldn’t be afraid
to do things (I have a list of all the things that I would like to do in
heaven: sky-dive, bungee-jump, scuba dive, sing in front of large groups of
people to name a few).
I picture heaven as being the biggest and greatest family
reunion. We will be sitting around, chatting and getting to know people. There
will be wonderful food and we won’t have to count calories. I picture an
eternity of fellowship with everyone in heaven.
Doesn’t sound much like earth to me. Or does it? Or can it?
The more I started to think about heaven the more I got
impatient. I wanted to be in heaven now. Why do I have to wait? Can’t you just
come now Lord? What if the phrase, “heaven on earth” could have some truth
to it?
I started looking for some of the things on earth that reminded
me of heaven…
- Spending time with my
sweet family
- Any family gathering
that included yummy food
- Dessert
- Nature
- The wonderful talents
God has given each person
- The amazing
development of technology and resources that we enjoy
- Children
Maybe there was more truth to “heaven on earth” then I
thought. Maybe I was just missing it.
Why is it so much easier to see the bad? This world seems to
be spinning in two completely different directions: good and bad. Sometimes I
can hardly breathe when I think or hear about the insurmountable evil in this
world: the 138 million orphans in the world, the sex-trafficking of young
girls, the poverty, the amount of people that die every day of preventable
diseases, the greed, the selfishness, the hate. It’s hard for me to live in my
nice house, in our nice neighborhood, with our safe streets and wonderful
schools when there is a world that is dying around us. But the problem seems so
big, how can I even make a difference? Wouldn’t it just be easier if God came
back?
On the other hand, there is resounding good in this
world: people are becoming aware
and adopting orphans, girls that have been sex-slaves since they were five are
being rescued, scientists are discovering new ways to get clean water to remote
villages and health care workers are educating churches in basic health care
for those who live too far away from hospitals there are people who give and care and sacrifice to help others ( http://www.thepeaceplan.com/ ).
We are a long way from heaven but maybe we’re slowly inching toward it?
What if God isn’t silent and is working in our world and in our lives today? What if He never
stopped? What if we just stopped seeing Him? What if earth was slowing
transforming into heaven right before our eyes?
What if?
I want to live my life bringing heaven to earth.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy
City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard
a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men,
and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be
with them and be their God.(Revelation 21;1-3 NIV)
(Author's note: Sadly this will be my last post on Mom2Mom. Thank you for your support. May you continue in your quest to draw close to the Lord. Many Blessings!)
©2009 All Rights Reserved Trina Loucks
It’s hard to see God in this world sometimes. You have to really look for Him. The world’s evil is extremely prevalent and it can seem like God is far away in a place called heaven.
Somewhere in my thinking, I’ve assumed that God created the earth, hung around quite a bit in “olden times”, sent Jesus to die on the cross and rise three days later, left to go prepare a place for us, and then nothing…nothing until His glorious return.
One of my present-day heroes is Rob Bell. In his book, Velvet Elvis, he talks about “heaven coming to earth.” To be honest, I really didn’t like this phrase at first. Heaven on earth?I cannot imagine this earth being heaven at all. I don’t even want to think about the two having anything in common.
Slowly over the years, this phrase stirred in my brain…
Heaven on earth…
This earth transforming to heaven one day…
A few years back, I studied heaven quite a bit and it made me yearn for it even more. But it also made me somewhat stagnant in my life because I just wanted to be in heaven. It would be the ultimate, quick-fix, extreme makeover.
So easy.
Everything. Would. Be. Perfect.
In heaven-
I picture heaven as being the biggest and greatest family reunion. We will be sitting around, chatting and getting to know people. There will be wonderful food and we won’t have to count calories. I picture an eternity of fellowship with everyone in heaven.
Doesn’t sound much like earth to me. Or does it? Or can it?
The more I started to think about heaven the more I got impatient. I wanted to be in heaven now. Why do I have to wait? Can’t you just come now Lord? What if the phrase, “heaven on earth” could have some truth to it?
Maybe there was more truth to “heaven on earth” then I thought. Maybe I was just missing it.
Why is it so much easier to see the bad? This world seems to be spinning in two completely different directions: good and bad. Sometimes I can hardly breathe when I think or hear about the insurmountable evil in this world: the 138 million orphans in the world, the sex-trafficking of young girls, the poverty, the amount of people that die every day of preventable diseases, the greed, the selfishness, the hate. It’s hard for me to live in my nice house, in our nice neighborhood, with our safe streets and wonderful schools when there is a world that is dying around us. But the problem seems so big, how can I even make a difference? Wouldn’t it just be easier if God came back?
On the other hand, there is resounding good in this world: people are becoming aware and adopting orphans, girls that have been sex-slaves since they were five are being rescued, scientists are discovering new ways to get clean water to remote villages and health care workers are educating churches in basic health care for those who live too far away from hospitals there are people who give and care and sacrifice to help others ( http://www.thepeaceplan.com/ ). We are a long way from heaven but maybe we’re slowly inching toward it?
What if God isn’t silent and is working in our world and in our lives today? What if He never stopped? What if we just stopped seeing Him? What if earth was slowing transforming into heaven right before our eyes?
What if?
I want to live my life bringing heaven to earth.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.(Revelation 21;1-3 NIV)
©2009 All Rights Reserved Trina Loucks