Heaven On Earth | Our Hands Go Up

A few weeks ago my oldest daughter, Laken, spoke some incredible wisdom into my life that I am still thinking through. We have been talking about life, death, and heaven a lot, and Laken has decided that she really doesn’t want to go to Heaven, and because I’m a great dad…I decided I needed to convince her about how wonderful heaven is and that she really does want to go there.

The convincing and conversation ended rather quickly, as soon as I started by saying, “Think of your most favorite, greatest place on earth and imagine being there forever!”

So as we are making our 45 minute commute to school/work (a time that at times I think she hates), I ask her, “so, where is your favorite place? her reply, “right here.” #mindblown

I realized that this little 4 year old could not imagine a better place on earth than being exactly where she is right now, and so the idea of leaving this place to go to a heaven was downright scary to her. This would be the perfect example of being content, and it was in this moment that the words “let thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven” became more real than ever. I realized that Jesus didn’t just come and die on the Cross so that we could spend eternity in heaven, but He came to also give us a full life! And that real contentment can only be reached if we are striving to have heaven on earth; otherwise we are constantly waiting for that better place (Heaven).

In an interview with Josh Ross and Jonathan Storment, authors of Bringing Heaven to Earth, they said it like this:

“One idea we hope to convey about heaven is that we believe that the primary goal of the Bible, specifically the New Testament, is not that we get to go to heaven when we die, but it’s that we get to thrive in a living covenant with Jesus that transcends death. Therefore, the gospel is bigger than trusting in Jesus, so you can get your sins forgiven, so that you can go to heaven after you die. The gospel is trusting in Jesus, entering into an eternal covenant which begins now, and then living in the fullness of God in order to change the world. The call of Christians is not to cross your fingers and hang on tight until the end, but to roll up your sleeves, partner with God, and join in the adventure.”

At the end of the day, I know bringing heaven to earth is a great idea, but it can be overshadowed with all of the “crap” that is accompanied with this world. However, it’s the simple truth from a 4 year old that has not yet been told how hard this world is yet, that reminds me that we can still have heaven on earth and the only thing keeping us from having that is our own heart, mind, and relationship with Jesus. It’s for this reason and so many others that no matter how dark the days get, our hands will still go up.

-James