Heaven on Earth

[Dan Haas]

“Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done...”The first chapters of Genesis show the creation going from chaos to perfection, or, as some would have it, from perfection to chaos to perfection, as things go in the rest of history. The remaining part of the Old Testament tells the story of covenant and law, and the unfaithfulness of a people to that covenant, and their ruin, culminating with their Anointed, their promised-seed Messiah, savior, God-himself-who came “unto His own” in the person of His Son, departing from Herod's temple with the words, “your house is left unto you desolate.”The perfections of Paradise and of the law should not be mourned as “not so perfect after all.” God knows the beginning from the end, and that's (as Paul Harvey used to say) “the rest of the story.” Having read the end of the Book, I believe that indeed God will dry every tear, the lion will lay with the lamb, and “a child shall lead them.”The miracles of Jesus, and penultimately, the resurrection, declare the power of God to do what is “impossible,” presaging the restitution of all things, “the healing of the nations,” and the believers' hearts groan within them for that redemption, that manifestation of God's transformative/creative power to make things right; to feed the hungry, raise the dead, console the mournful, that their tears would turn to laughter and joy, and so we mutter and yearn, again and a gain, “Thy kingdom come.”But my friends, what power we've got, if we only knew it! For God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Nor is He merely God for some day, but for today, while we now live and breathe.There is a pearl of great price, precious but free, lying in plain sight for two thousand years, for all who have eyes to see. It is written in the Bible, but not just there. The whole creation speaks of it, and it is written not only in the stars, but in our hearts. It can be found anywhere, and missed everywhere.It's not far from any one of us, for as the poet said, “we are His offspring.” A child is born, and we hold her in our arms, and marvel at the newness of this life. And we worry – oh how we dread! For she is born into this marvelous but corrupt world. She yet knows nothing of war and crime and perversion, but she will soon learn. We will protect her from it whatever way we can, and we will do our best to offer her riches and honor and glory, just as our parents wished for us – peace and safety and prosperity.Now we know precisely the will of God, for now we too have “offspring.” We will fight any of her foes and work our fingers to the bone – sacrifice and save – that she might have the best life has to offer. And yet, the wisest of us will have to let her lose at times.Whatever blessings we may have had bequeathed to us, or which we have produced, we will leave to her. These include material things, to be sure, but also what Jesus called “the true riches.” Some of us know the value of faith and hope and love, and the dignity of work.We will take her to the beach as our father took us, and wonder again, this time with her as she wonders, as we did the first time our father pulled a horseshoe crab from the surf, and turned it over for us to see his underbelly.We'll bequeath to her the value of “being there” for friends – of helping them move, sharing their joy at their weddings, and of standing with them in adversity and tragedy. We know the thankfulness we had when we were knocked unconscious and awoke to find a friend at our bedside.Since we want the best for her, we do not take lightly our responsibility to pass on whatever truth and whatever goodness that has been passed on to us, or which we have discovered. So we teach her, not with words only, of course, but by doing. Our love is not reserved for friends and family; we've been broke down on the side of the road, and a stranger stopped to help us.And surprises! As we hold our newborn in our arms, we begin conspiring to bless them with the unexpected. Maybe when she's seven or eight, we'll wake her up for a “Christmas in July” complete with wrapped presents and stockingstuffers and a special breakfast, just because. And we'll plan and carry out the biggest blessings, no surprise about that.

What do we want for her? All that is good – not just for her, but IN her, and we resolve ourselves to be good, not merely for her but for itself. And the prayer is answered. God's kingdom does come. His will is in fact done upon earth, as it is in heaven, for it is done in us. We cooperate with God. We conspire with Him to bless. And light comes into this world and the darkness cannot comprehend it; neither can it overcome it. Though evil is all around us, we defy it. We remove our foot from it. Though “everyone is doing it,” we do not.We praise God. We're thankful for our daily bread. We mourn our mistakes and foolishnesses and thoughtlessnesses, grateful for the opportunity to change, to grow, to live anew, and we extend understanding and forbearance and patience to our little girl – to everyone we can, because this is vital, and precious as it is, it is free.And, we will pray that down the road, we might not stumble again. Oh, we will; we know that. If the past is any indication... But we pray not, and must resign ourselves that when we do, we'll find grace again to see it, to stop it, and once again to start anew.We have this treasure in earthen vessels. God is in heaven, and we are on earth. But my friends, without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness, which is manifest in the flesh.The labels that define us in our diversities by birth and by choice can also separate us, but this is not the will of God. No, His will is done on earth when we love one another. Every one of us is different from the other, but we are all His offspring, all created in His image, all made of one blood.Here's the secret as Paul wrote it in another place: whoever is led by the spirit of God, they are the children of God. John says it another way: little children, don't be deceived. Whoever does the right thing is right. Jesus did the right thing (“and in him there is no sin”) and how did he do it? Not as Cain, who took his brother's life, but by giving his own life, and we ought to give our lives for our brothers.We'll fail in this endeavor, and then, in shame – for our hearts will condemn us – we will have to reassure our hearts before God, who knows all things. He remembers that we are dust. But there will be times, too, when we are firing on all eight cylinders, and here's a precious promise: our dreams will come true. The system works.This corrupt world, this dark and sometimes terrifying place is inhabited by divinity. Unto us a child is born, and upon his shoulders shall be the government – the irresistible power derived from the right, exercised justly and humbly. This is our calling, that good might be done in us. It is really that simple.

Ultimately, we will teach our little girl, as she is ready, and this moment will not come at once, but incrementally, and she cannot learn it once, but as a knife is sharpened by many strokes, we will have to show her and tell her again and again, and it is this: Yes – oh-so-emphatically yes – she is the apple of our eye. But she is not the only one. She is marvelous, astounding, beautiful, unique. In her we see God, just as we see God in Jesus. But she will have to grow out of selfishness, and learn responsibility, to obey the law, and to love. Oddly enough, it will probably be she that teaches this to us as much as it may be the other way around.

[frank manasseri]

oops! Another "senior moment".

Excuse me Dan for calling you Dave as I meant Dan in the first place.

And thank you Oh most omnipresent and wise Steve M. for bringing this to my attention.

[frank manasseri]

Thanks Dave for you well written thoughts.

Yes, even with all the chaotic distractions we experience in this life, we are able to have the hope that may only be seen through the eyes of faith, of a time when, as you say, "all tears will be wiped away." What a day that will be!

Thanks again for your contribution.

[John Richeson]

That is truly a piece of heaven on earth.