Experiencing Heaven Today
July 1, 2023 2023-07-01 8:02Experiencing Heaven Today
Experiencing Heaven today.
Psalms 119:160
All your words are true;
all your righteous laws are eternal. (NIV)
Christ refers to Heaven as the Kingdom of Heaven. Israel was a Kingdom. We are being made into a holy nation of believers the Bible says. It would seem to be societal. Life would not consist merely of continual worship. Life would be the pinnacle of every good thing we do know, better things we do not yet know, and none of the misery of this world.
However, Heaven is not for the afterlife. Jesus said that Heaven is near to us. Heaven is here available for us to experience. We cannot, for now, escape the nature of this life. There are going to be trials and temptations, difficulties and disasters, but within that context, we can live the experience of Heaven’s peace, joy, love, and grace. This is why Jesus came, not to judge the world, but to give life more abundantly. And how will this life manifest in us as we remain in this world?
The passage today teaches us that God’s laws are eternal. They bring about Heaven. The social imaginary and social movements of a society determine the values, motives, and dangers for a people. Consider America. As Americans, we imagine the world as ours for the taking. The rule of American life is the pursuit of pleasure. Other nations have different imaginaries. A militant Muslim nation’s rule is religious control through fear. The organization, values, laws, and ways of relating to one another determine how people experience their life.
As citizens of Heaven, we are called to live according to the laws, ways, and the imaginary of Heaven even while we are still here. Heaven is unseen and requires faith. Living by faith changes how we experience life. The rule of Heaven is the absolute provision of God for all things. No one worries about their bills. No one is desperate for drugs or money because the love of God is greater than all these things. People relate to one another purely out of what is best for the other all the time. This is Heaven.
The psalmist is reminding us today when we live according to the laws of God, we will find our imaginary shifting toward the ways of Heaven. The way we relate to others, what we pursue and the laws that guide our life allows the eternal to be experienced today.
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