Heaven is that one ever expanding and clarifying Infinite moment with Him. An eternity of eternities flowing together, ever filling with worship and purpose and hope and peace and Him. Only Him would be astoundingly more than enough! And it is more. Surely it is like God to give us a hope that is beyond infinitely Good.
Yes beloved, believers have come through a gate upon conversion. We have entered into eternity already. In a sense, time has come to a halt. This stoppage is not a block to our progress, but rather a freeing from the constraints of linearity. No longer do we have to try to cobble together some sort of step-by-step existence; ever-plodding towards the goal of rest in death – and hopefully some sort of haven in some afterlife.
Heaven, for the believer, is now.
Yeah, even in the circumstances. Heaven is now. While in this life, though, we can step outside of the boundaries of the kingdom and back towards the fetid pools HE pulled us from into new life. We can step back into the torrents of linear time by bringing our own flesh back “online.” The minute we choose to assert any of our own selves in our own power (even to do good), we begin to try to do infinitely hard things on a limited power budget.
When we try, we fail. We fail because we are trying to use our bodies for a purpose for which they were never intended. Humans were not designed to do good on their own. They were designed to be bought, cleaned, set apart and filled with the Goodness of G_d. And then they were purposed to pour out that Goodness on others.
We are vessels. We are not manufacturers of goodness. Never were. Never will be. Without utter oneness with the One who can actually live a successful life through us, we are toast.
What’s the point?
It is time to step out of time. Time to stop trying to get to heaven, and yield to the truth that – in Christ – we are already there. We are to begin seeing with His eternal lens.
And when we start seeing things the way He sees them, an interesting phenomena begins to occur. We begin to behave in ways that are much more like the way we “wanted” to behave when we were trying to do it on our own. Our perspective gets bent towards only that which is true and noble and just and pure and lovely and of good report and virtuous and worthy of praise.
We begin to stop studying the books, and begin to build relationship with those whom we can share our learning.
We begin to see that we don’t have to prove that we are right to anyone, any more. We only have to speak truth.
We begin to see that all the things we tried to collect to bring us comfort, only had the opposite effect. In finding Him, we find that any manufactured thing carries the danger of distracting us from the only One that brings any real comfort anyway.
Said more simply, we stop trying to get stuff into us. We stop trying to get somewhere. We just stop, and throw ourselves upon Christ – and seek only dwell in His presence.
In this place, we look out and realize that there is no other place we would ever want to go. And in this forever-now moment with Him, we become filled to overflowing with Him. Our lives begin to spill and pour out on those in the world around us.
Some are repulsed. They don’t want to get “wet.” Others are greatly comforted and bask in the flow of the Love they are receiving. These are drawn closer to Him, that they may be brought into the same place.
Would that we might – ever – remember. Heaven is now. He is here. In this place, He will fill us and pour us out that others might join us in righteousness and peace and joy forever with Him.
