The Kingdom of Heaven
He said therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like? And to what should I compare it?' Luke 13. 18 - 30
Jesus came to earth, God made man, to show God's people what Love and the Kingdom of Heaven really looked like. Most of the Hebrew scriptures interpret God as mighty and powerful but also vengeful. God sent Jesus to reveal God's Love... "greater love hath no man than to lay down his life for his friends."
Jesus, Son of God, ate with sinners rather than killing them, loved extravagantly even the smallest and the most insignificant and taught us that God's love was/is unconditional for all people and intoxicatingly contagious. And Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is now. In this life on this earth we are given glimpses of God's kingdom...when the lost sheep is found, when the smallest seed of all produces the largest tree, when a few people can make a difference in the midst of chaos.
In God's kingdom, Love reigns. God's kingdom is the fulfillment of the Creation story...God created human (humus - earth) in God's image and each of God's created beings carries the essence of God. There is no qualification for this image; it is part of being created. Thus the Kingdom of God looks like us whether we are lost sheep, sinners, foolish or ruined. And God loves us all. The extravagant Love of God is beyond our comprehension, and all God asks of us is to Love one another equally extravagantly.
Even in times of political and theological uncertainty, God's Love reigns and the Kingdom of Heaven is present. We might have to look more carefully for it, but it is there. There are many political and theological untruths floating around during periods of uncertainty, but the Great Truth, like the Greatest Commandment from the Old Testament and the New Testament is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and might, and Love your neighbor as yourself." This commandment is for all people of all religions and all walks of life. That's why Jesus called it "the greatest."
from A Theology of Heaven for our Time,
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