Bring it on Down

I recently finished reading a book by Rob Bell titled "Velvet Jesus". It's and excellent portrayal of his views on the future of the Church and I felt he was speaking of the Bible as a living document that evolves with us and stays as relevant as the day it was written. But that has nothing to do with this blog……….

He said something that really got me thinking. It was along the lines of Sheri's opinion of living as if we're already in heaven. The second we receive Jesus into out heart we also receive the free gift of salvation. Our old self is dead and immediately our everlasting life begins! We are, if not in Heaven, let us say Heaven's foyer. All the things of this world are also dead to us. Worrying about the temporal should be utterly ridiculous compared to the future we have in the eternal. That being said everything we do, say or think, how we react to adversity and who we point the glory to should be bringing down a piece of Heaven to everyone we come in contact with.

On the other hand, if the above is true, than so is the opposite. The lost are sitting in Hell's waiting room reading 10 year old Reader's Digest's with nothing to look forward to in life except for an eternal prostate exam in the next room (sorry about that mental image, just keeping in step with the waiting room theme). Hell is a state of being forever separated from our loving Father. People without Christ are temporarily separated but still have the chance to open their hearts to Him.

We, as God's children, have an enormous responsibility. The super rich man hording his money while children are starving, the Church that quietly forces out people that don't fit there image, the evangelist using his platform for gain and famous preachers claiming God's vengeance against a certain group of "sinners" in the form of hurricanes are all guilty. Not only are they giving Christianity a bad name, they are also bringing up a piece of Hell for non-believers who look at us as hypocrites and are forced farther from the Truth. I'm far from innocent. Every second I spend hiding in my house, windows closed and air on, is time I could be meeting neighbors and helping out where ever I might be needed. Bring Down Heaven! It may seem noble to give to needy organizations or adopt a child from afar by sending some cash once a month but those are still things of our own choosing. Not that they're in any way bad, just still in a small way thinking of self. It makes us feel good. Now neighbors on the other hand, whew, if you're blessed with good ones, congratulations. These people have been plopped down next to you with no consultation from you. But they are there for a reason. We may not like them on a personal level but human emotions are one of those temporal things that we need to ignore. God loves them, so should we. Jesus weeps for them, so should we.