Every leader has to manage expectation if they want to succeed. This is leadership 101. Set an unreasonable expectation and people will feel like they've failed. Set too low of an expectation and people will feel like they've accomplished very little—which is failure masquerading as a success. Real success is finding that "Goldilocks zone" where the expectations are equal parts inspirational and achievable.
Now when it comes to “heaven on Earth” managing expectations is a tricky business. How can we know if heaven is actually on Earth? What does it look like? Is it evident to all or just a few? Are there tangible clues that prove or disprove heaven's presence here on Earth?
Personally, I can answer those questions both pessimistically and optimistically.
BEN, THE CYNIC
Because of what I've witnessed during this pandemic the cynic in me argues for the total absence of heaven on Earth. It's hard to imagine that heaven has any kind of presence on this planet when a deadly virus lurks in the shadows, businesses are struggling to stay open, and I cannot find even a single roll of Charmin's mega-ultra-gentle toilet paper infused with lotion to save my life. I have truly suffered in a way which words cannot properly express.
BEN, THE IDEALIST
On the other hand, I am a man of faith. My whole life is built on the premise that the impossible is possible all because God makes possible the impossible. If He can be born of a virgin, live a sinless life, die by crucifixion, and then rise again, who's to say what's impossible and what's possible? These truths encourage me to exhibit characteristics that are more in keeping with an idealistic frame of mind rather than a cynical frame of mind. Where the cynic cannot see even the shadow of Heaven. I should be able to see the literal hand of God at work in my everywhere. Faith leads the believer to see beyond our limited perception of reality into the realm of infinite possibility where a God who can do anything is in control and is at work in our world.
But which "Ben" is the correct Ben? Is the cynic right or the idealist? The answer is both. I believe heaven touches Earth at the border of cynicism and idealism. The Christian mind must be rooted in the pragmatism of the "here" and "now" while also being open to the impossibilities of the "what-ifs" and the "maybes." Reason and rationale are the safeguards of the mind and they keep us from blatant pitfalls. However, if we only walk by sight we will only do the expected thing. Whereas if we walk by faith we will find ourselves doing the remarkable thing. And though the extraordinary thing can be both intimidating and terrifying it is better to fail at something extraordinary than succeed at something ordinary. Or as DL Moody put it, "Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter." And there are too many Christians who are "succeeding" at things that do not have any eternal value simply because they believe heaven on Earth is an impossibility. Apparently their cynicism has proven to be far more robust than their idealism.
HEAVEN ON MY EARTH
So even though heaven on Earth may be a pipe-dream to some I am trying to make heaven a concrete reality in my own little patch of Earth. I do not expect this world to be exactly like Heaven because there are still far too many things that have gone so very wrong. But neither can I assume that Heaven has no impact in my own world because I've seen far too many things that have gone so very right.
While I witnessed riots in the streets, political upheaval, and spiritual turmoil, I have also seen human beings caring for one another, churches banding together, and a concern for the needy I had not seen before. In my own life I experienced dark and depressing days in 2020, but there were many bright and cheerful days as well. Looking back those good days shine brighter precisely because of the darkness that surrounded them. For instance, my daughter not only learned to ride a bike without training wheels but she also, as she put it, "Asked Jesus to wash [her] sins away." And though my schedule has been in utter disarray since February this disruption gave me more time with my kids than I would've had otherwise—during a phase of their life that is often so fleeting.
And that's the point really. Heaven is hardly to be found by those who aren't even looking for it. Whereas Heaven can scarcely be hidden from those who know of its existence. This is the point that Jesus was getting at when He said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." The pure in heart know there is a God, and so they see God everywhere. But the impure in heart think of God as a mere fabrication. As such, they see only the tines of chance rather than the hands of the Creator. As Karl Marx believed, they think of religion as nothing more than the "opium of the people." What a bleak and woefully deranged outlook on life. But such is the result of a mind that thinks Man is the ultimate determiner of reality. The human race is, at its best, deranged and depraved, and so, apart from God, we can only conceive of a perverse and ultimately heaven-less reality. Whereas, only the Christian can see heaven in the seemingly mundane affairs of everyday life.
While I agree with the general ideas of what is presented, I think the article above mostly deals with one's perception of the current circumstances. But there is also another view to be considered: the doctrinal view and reality of what we are to be expecting during our time on earth. This requires us to consider eschatology, the study of end time events. There are many who believe that the church is to usher in the Kingdom of Christ which would a literal heaven on earth. There are others who believe that are already living in the Kingdom of Christ and that the present days are what the Bible calls Christ's Kingdom on earth. I believe that if we take an honest look at the Scriptures, we are to be as pilgrims on this earth. This world system is not our home. We are to be IN the world, but not OF the world. All who will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. However, this affliction is not to be compared with the glory which we will experience afterwards in the resurrection. I could take the time to talk about theology and eschatology, but I believe that there should be a longing for the Kingdom of Christ which will be. While we are already beginning to experience the reign of Christ in our own lives, we will one day experience it in a far greater way on earth in Christ's thousand year reign described in Revelation 20 and many other texts. While we can subjectively experience "Heaven on earth" as we are content in Christ's reign and rule in our personal lives, we will one day objectively experience it with Christ as we reign and rule with Him. As Paul said in Romans 8:18 - "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." May we live for the glory of God in this life, but may we never stop longing for that which is yet to come.
ReplyDeleteThanks for engaging my friend. I would agree with all that you have said with the exception that the post which was written wasn't the "doctrinal view." Both our view of the future (eschatological) and our view of the present must be shaped by doctrine. This post addressed the erroneous belief that heaven is only some far-off reality only to be experienced after death or when Christ comes again. That is a view which tends to escapism rather than kingdom-building. And while that view has merit, it is also only half what the Kingdom is. Christ entrance into our world inaugurated His rule and so the Kingdom is both to come and "now." We must live with the hope of that eternal tomorrow when Christ's kingdom comes in full but also with the present assurance that it has already invaded and effecting our world.
DeleteIt wasn't my intent to say that what you wrote was disconnected from a doctrinal view. While we both agree on the present/future tension of the Kingdom of Christ, I guess it was more the usage of the word "Heaven" that I took exception to. While there are some references to the Kingdom of Heaven (Kingdom of God), the Scriptures generally contrast the earth from Heaven. This is seen incredibly clear in Revelation as we see the parallel scenes unfolding in Heaven and in earth. While I do understand where you are coming from, if we do wish to call our present state on earth as "Heaven" I would find it best to present it as a foretaste of what is yet to come. And that foretaste only existing in the experience of those redeemed by Christ. We know that "except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
DeleteI stress the importance of eschatology on this because there is a wide range of theological persuasians out there. During my time in language school, I spent nearly one year with students of all theological stripes. Immediately, it was clear that there were great differences on external things such as standards, musical preferences, and even certain parts of theology. But what became increasingly clear to me was that at times it seemed like we were speaking two different langauges. With regards to mission work, I generally spoke of preaching the Gospel, while others spoke almost exclusively of "Kingdom-building." While I emphasized the importance of conversion, they emphasized conformation. I emphasized the truth of God's Word to produce faith and effect change, they tended to emphasize social relevancy and cultural influence... Near the end of my time there, during spiritual emphasis week, there was a pastor who preached messages on things like: Salvation, Repentance, Living For Christ, etc. There was a controversy among the student body... so much that the school took a poll of the students to find out exactly what the problems were. As part of the student council, we reviewed the results. They were extremely polarizing. One portion of the student body commended the speaker for biblical accuracy, gospel emphasis, etcétera. The other portion were extremely critical, and though I don't remember the exact answers given, the general idea was that they were opposed to the core message of the Gospel. These solidified the impression that I had in that we were coming from two different worlds. We spoke two different languages.
Since this time, I've come to realize that eschatology does shape a lot of what we do and how we do it. Post millennialism sees the return of Christ as following the millennium, or golden age of Christian prosperity and influence. In other words, the church itself brings about the reign of Christ in the earth. The charistmatic/pentecostal/apostlic movement has something called "Dominion Theology" and something called the 7 mountain mandate. Generally speaking, the church is to use its influence to take over the 7 spheres of influence in the world: Education, Religion, Family, Business, Government/Military, Arts/Entertainment, and Media. For many, when they speak of "Building the Kingdom" they believe that the church is literally to take dominion of the earth through its political/social influence. They believe that they are essentially expanding "Heaven on Earth." In one very popular spanish hymn, the text literally says, "How glorious will the morning be when Jesus the Savior comes... The nations united as sisters will give welcome to the Lord."
The Scriptures paint a different picture. As we have discussed, there is some truth to the present kingdom, but the vast majority points to the future fulfillment. This hope is found in the return of Christ. Though God is sovereign and Christ is seated at the right hand of God, in the present time the Devil is called "The god of this world" and "the prince of this world" and "the prince of the power of the air." He deceives the nations. The antichrist (the first beast) will rule. The Bible goes as far as to say in Revelation 13:7-8 :
Delete"And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
I wouldn't call that Heaven on Earth. Though the saints may enjoy a foretaste of God's reign in their personal lives, the earth itself will be far from Heaven. When Christ returns the nations will be united against Him. It is only in the return of Christ that His Kingdom will fully be established.
My comments may not be directed towards what you are saying, but rather towards some ideas that are becoming more prevalent in modern Christianity. I guess the ideas of "Heaven on Earth" and "Building the Kingdom" bring these things to mind because when many people use these phrases, they are speaking a far different language than what you and I are probably speaking. While we ought to be busy about the work, our ultimate faith and hope lies in the return of Christ. My response is a lot longer than I had planned, but I would like to include a link to an article that I thought was pretty good and balanced perspective on this topic:
https://dougskinner.wordpress.com/2017/07/31/building-the-kingdom/
Whoa! First, let me just say, thank you. That was so well worded and thought out, that I'm blown away my little post sparked such a response. Seriously, it was not only humbling but that was a joy to read and opened my eyes to a perspective I had not considered or experienced before. Being that I'm not only America, but that I serve in a strictly American and most conservative context, it is easy to forgot how something I say can mean something else entirely in a different context. Secondly...well...I forgot what the other thing was. Thank you for contributing to the conversation my friend.
DeleteHey Ben, I appreciate your understanding. Haha, the second thing is pretty funny. Kinda reminds me of Joe Biden skipping over number 2 in the debate. It's kinda funny when Trump calls him out on it around 1:12:28 on this video. https://youtu.be/wW1lY5jFNcQ?t=4337
DeleteGreat comment and thank you for it!! I think last week’s post on this very topic lends itself more to your viewpoint. Let us know what you think and thank you again for the feedback!!
ReplyDeleteAndrew and I (my husband) were just talking about this the other day. Living in the dissonance of the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’. We live in a radically (not utterly) depraved world that is tainted by the fall so pervasively, but through God’s grace and goodness we still see glimpses of the kingdom. I also like the analogy from Russ Moore of how the church is an outpost of the kingdom. We are to demonstrate and reflect the kingdom by living our lives using the kingdom values Jesus taught us. How we see ourselves in this world and how we interact with it are both important. Hope that makes sense! Thanks guys!
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