For as long as I can remember, Heaven has always been a place. When I think about it I look up assuming it must be out there. I still have that pull when contemplating Heaven, the draw that it is somewhere up and out of this world.
Exactly where, out there, I can’t be certain, but I think someone should equip people with tracking devices that measure where they look when they think of Heaven. Wouldn’t it be interesting if everyone looked to the same point in space?
The point is, I think most will agree that Heaven is outside this sphere we spin on called earth. Even those that seek Heaven within eventually escape the grips of the earthly realm to enlightenment.
For far too long I used to think that Heaven was the reason for this whole earthly experience. That God took us from Heaven, deposited us in earthly bodies to experience life as a mortal, and if we passed “the test” we got to crawl back up to Heaven. Basically, we lived in some spherical petri dish as God watched from above with the heavenly hosts taking bets on who would make it.
Admittedly, that is quite an irreverent thought, but that was my understanding and from the lives of everyone around me that professed faith in God, was a perfectly logical conclusion. Most people I meet live a life in God that resembles that sentiment. A life constantly anchored from the perspective of just getting through.
The thing is, I don’t buy it.
It doesn’t make any sense that we are sent to the earth just to struggle through to the sweet by and by. What is even worse is that this type of thinking contradicts the attributes of a loving God. Accepting the premise that we serve a loving but conveniently removed God is what leads people to schisms that ultimately force them to reject Him. If we can agree that God is good and God is love and hold on to that basic character trait of God, then there can only be one reason for the state of our life.
Us.
This is where it gets difficult.
Pointing the finger back to us is the last thing anyone wants to do. We have made responsibility for our own lives the forbidden topic. We need look no further than our politics to see the end game of this type of thinking. When we refuse to look inside and ask God to change our condition and instead start blaming God for that condition, it puts us in opposition to the very nature of God. Once in opposition to who He is we must reject Him which leaves us once again with ourselves. Having the finger pointed back at us with no hope remaining for change we create a surrogate called government.
We can’t escape it, no matter how much we squirm we are still responsible because being responsible is why we are here. God made us sovereign on this planet to rule over it and instead of exercising that authority to change our own lives, we give that authority to elected officials to rule over us. The more we reject the authority in our own lives ordained by God, the more that delegated authority will be turned back to rule over us!
Jesus said an interesting thing in Matthew 28. Actually, Jesus said quite a few interesting things in Matthew 28 but this one is key. “All authority has been given to me”.
All.
Not some, or most, but all. Right after that statement Jesus told his followers to go and make disciples in all nations, baptize them, teach them His ways and that He will be with us to the end.
If Jesus has all authority, what He tells us to do we can do. Period. Jesus only did what the Father told him to do, so in the end we are to do the same. The trick is hearing the Fathers voice and I don’t want to get into that right now, but it still comes down to us.
To help us out Jesus taught us how to pray to God:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your Kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom,
the power and the glory are yours.
Now and for ever. Amen
Your Kingdom come, your will be done.
This is where we run astray in our own lives. God gave Adam authority over the planet and Adam gave it away to Satan by betraying God. Adam turned into a bad governor if you will, and the King took away his power. Jesus redeemed man through the cross and all authority was given back to Jesus becuase he was obedient. Jesus then gave that authority and right standing back to the sons of Adam. We are now workin’ for the King again. Satan no longer has a right to the authority of this world, Jesus does. When we pray for the kingdom of Heaven to come, we are literally asking God to invade this world with His kingdom.
We are His ambassadors on the earth.
I can’t overemphasize this point. God is sovereign but He will not usurp His own decree that we have authority without our permission. That in a nutshell is why you hear people ask “If God is good, why does a good God let bad things happen?”.
The truth is, it is our fault, we run the place!
When we pray we are essentially asking God to do His will on this earth as it is in Heaven. Since His kingdom is Heaven, whatever is normal there should be normal here. We are saying to God that we recognize the authority Given to us through Jesus and we align that authority to reflect the way things should be in Heaven.
Your will be done here Daddy, let her rip!
Jesus also told us to: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
Um, Jesus really meant we should do that, becuase I don’t think people are sick in Heaven! Pretty sure they are all alive, free of incurable diseases, and certainly not demon possessed.
I don’t know about you, but when I think about doing all that I get a little freaked out. I also get a little excited becuase I have been seeing more of it happen in and around my life.
The problem is I don’t see it happen all the time and I am earnestly pointing the finger inward and asking why, it obviously must be me.