Heaven

Our true home

"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven"

We are all citizens of Heaven. It's our true home.

This earth is only a passing place. We're here temporarily and for not very long.

Jesus talked about the kingdom, a lot. Just go to any of the four gospels and sooner or later you'll come across Him talking about His Father's kingdom.

In Luke 12:32 we hear him say "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom."

God is pleased to give His kingdom to us. It's something He gives; we can't earn it. It's free of charge. All you have to do is accept it.

His kingdom starts here and although it's physical, i.e. the trees, the sun and sky, animals and the countryside, it's also in the built environment. It all reflects him. His kingdom on earth is man and God working together. Like the angels, God has given us the ability to design and build. God's creative spirit works in man.

But it's also in our hearts. "The kingdom is within you". Luke 17:21.

In Saint Paul's letter to the Romans he makes reference to the kingdom when he says "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". Romans 14:17.

The people thought it was about being satisfied physically. Plenty of good food to eat and a nice lifestyle surely meant that you were living in the kingdom. Although that's all part of it, Jesus needed to make them aware that it was about enjoying a deep infilling of the Holy Spirit which is one of the fruits of holiness.

The kingdom is also having love and gratitude for God in our hearts. It's also about partaking of the next life whilst we're still here. It's a fact that we do indeed have friends in high places. We also have the angels who inhabit God's kingdom here and in heaven.

Part of this heaven-bound way of living is keeping the commandments. And Jesus has told us what happens when we do.

Imagine unfathomable peace and joy beyond your wildest dreams. That's the kingdom inside you. It's not just about a packed larder, a nice plate of dinner or a desirable house. Jesus describes how to attain the kingdom beautifully in John 1:23 when he says "If a man keeps my word, the Father and I will come to him and make our home in him."

For many people this is unacceptable. However, in John 14:21 we see Jesus make us the full and magnificent promise: "The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I, too, will love him and I will reveal myself to him."

That's the kingdom. Both Jesus and the Father living in us under the covering of the Holy Spirit. Imagine that. Looking through the eyes of Jesus. Allowing both Jesus and the Father to love through you. And also seeing Jesus and living under the power and protection of the Holy Spirit.

That's huge. And that's the promise in the Gospel that Satan wants to deny you. The Evil One will deny you this above all. He wants you without a care for God.

In direct contrast, God wants you on fire. For it is written that his servants will be flames of fire (Heb 1:7).

But what must we do to inherit the kingdom?

"whoever practices and teaches them [the commandments] will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

Jesus said the he wants us all to go out and preach the kingdom of God to all creation.

We have our work cut out. But this is our job.

"Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning. Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them."

Those dressed for service will be invited to put down their serving towels and the Lord - the servant king - will wait on them.

It's not easy to take this onboard. But the fact is that this is the kingdom of heaven. And it begins on earth.

A window into the Kingdom

If you click on the title above you'll find it's linked to a description of one of the levels of Purgatory called the Mountainous Islands. Here there is mention of ships tied to quayside moorings where unrepentant souls embark to be transported by sailing ship to large craggy verdant islands.

Make no mistake, the quayside is real, the ships are real and those who captain the vessels are very real.

What this means is that sailcloth has been made and someone has had to cut and stitch it, someone has built the ships, forges mustexist, tools are present and the coat which one of the captains wears was made by a tailor. Which means wool has been turned into yarn. Rope has to be made, boards had to be planed and sanded, there is wind and there are white-capped waves.

Of one of the captains, it's known that he was once a sailor who served onboard the convict ships during the period of transportation. This ship's captain now spends his days at the helm of a very different convict ship. Here he contemplates God's infinite love and goodness. He has chosen to humbly serve the Lord by transporting unrepentant and sinful souls to the solitude of the Mountainous Islands of Purgatory: a realm which God created in his mercy. Consider this though, the houses which face directly to the quiet water of this small harbour had to be built, stone had to be quarried and dressed, lime mortar had to be mixed, wooden doors had to be carpentered, anchor buoys and shackles had to be made. Who did this? Could it be that many in God's kingdom choose to serve him in a similar way to the way they did on earth? The magistrate on the island is a real person and he dresses in the same way he would've hundreds of years ago. He has a clerk, both now choose to serve God in the next life in an official capacity.

One must therefore ask the question: just exactly how different is heaven from how earth should have been?

One of the things which prompt us to ask this question is the fact that a little dog accompanies the ship's captain on his voyages. She lives with him in one of the cottages that face the harbour.

We know God works, we know Jesus, Mary and Joseph don't stop. We know the angels are engaged with doing and we know that the saints intercede and are part of our world just as much as they are in heaven. The church in heaven and the church on earth are united. We work here, so there's no reason why we can't work in heaven. Or do we sit on fluffy clouds for an eternity looking and feeling all saintly? I think not.

If we extrapolate from what's written above then we must assume that similar places may also have thatchers, stonemasons, architects, builders, coppersmiths, brewers, miners, tailors, notaries and dressmakers, those who work with lace, painters, makers of hessian, scribes, paint makers and pigmenters, notable papermakers, artists, goldsmiths, pargetters, glassblowers, weavers, slaters, candles makers and laddermakers - to name but a few.

As the ship's captain has a dog (who comes with him every day to work) then it may also be the case that working horses are present. On this basis it may be posited that there are also carpenters, blacksmiths and wheelwights.

There is a competing theory however. Angelic corpus is not as we understand it. Nevertheless, they are indeed capable of taking on physical form as per scriptural evidence. In the book of Tobit we read about Raphael and Tobias. It is thus equally possible that these master builders designed and constructed the heavenly kingdom.

Angels and humans are similar in many ways and may actually glorify and serve God in his heavenly kingdom in ways which are kindred. Only time will tell.

But the question is: Who goes to heaven?

The answer is those who are just, those who know love, and those who know the truth. What is truth? Pilate asked. Jesus is the truth. Every word which comes from his mouth is the truth. And God's visible representative on earth speaks the truth. So we must follow the shepherd.

St Paul advises us on what to do if we wish to inherit God's kingdom. He tells us it's living a righteous lives and staying away from sin. It's not living our lives like unbelievers. And we know, it's all about keeping the commandments: God and neighbour first. Charity starts at home.

But we have to be careful about how we hear (Luke 8:8). And we must always bear in mind the story of the rich young man in Matthew's gospel who asked Jesus what he had to do to have eternal life.

"Keep the commandments" was Our Lord's reply.

Now, if the fella had simply left it there and walked away then life for him would've carried on as normal. But he had to open his mouth. He had to try and justify himself. "But I have Lord, I've kept the commandments for as long as I can remember!!"

But Jesus knew him. He looked into his heart and found that he hadn't actually kept the commandments at all. He could see that he'd made wealth his God. And as it's written that "God tests the heart and the mind", Jesus tested him there and then so he could see that he was only under the illusion that he'd kept the law. The fact was, he was in denial.

"Go and sell all you have then come and follow me".

The poor lad failed. He was in fact a hyprocrite. Why O why did he open his mouth??! If he'd kept it shut once Jesus had told him what to do then he could've walked away. But oh no, he was a card carrier and he made the ascent to pride right in front of Jesus. Jesus knew how deadly pride was and he knew that the only way this man could know life was the live a humble one. The invitation was extended but he just couldn't do it. So he went back to his money knowing the truth.

And so it is with us. If we love money, if we put it first....................

There's nothing wrong with having money. There's nothing wrong with having a lot. But if it comes before the Most High then we're in trouble.

So be careful what you ask for in relation to the kingdom of the Most High God because he will aways take you at your word.