Heaven on Earth

Last night while lying awake in bed waiting to fall into a peaceful slumber, I asked myself a question for the first time, “why do I do this?” And by “this” I mean living in Africa: the place where you visibly see the war between good and evil. I witness on a daily basis raw humanity. There are many days where I wake up in the morning excited about the work that I do, the place I live, and the people I am surrounded by and then by 6 o’clock at night, I wish with every fiber in my being I was on the other side of the planet as far away from this mess as possible living in a naïve bubble.

You would think that I would have asked myself this question years ago, perhaps before I even got myself into this craziness, but I suppose I have never questioned myself because I have always known the answer…

One of the most memorized and well-known passages in the Bible is Matthew 6:9-13 – the Lord’s Prayer. It begins, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” While at Eastern last year, a theological discussion took place surrounding these verses. It was the first time I was presented with the concept that God’s kingdom can come on this earth – now, today and not only His will carried out.

After months on end of poverty staring me in the face every time I look out my window, this notion makes sense. For example: if I asked a hungry man what he thought heaven would be like, I could imagine that the first thing he would say is Heaven is a place where no one goes hungry. If I asked a hungry Malagasy, I am 100% positive they would say heaven would have as much rice as you could possibly eat. I know that I have plenty of food to eat, enough that I could share my blessings with someone around me. Thus, through such an action, God’s kingdom would be coming to the recipient’s life today. It is not necessary or acceptable that they wait until they enter the pearly gates to have the joy of a full stomach.

Continuing this train of thought, if I asked a homeless woman what heaven would be like for her, I anticipate an elaborate description of her mansion including pretty decorations, carpeted floors, and a bed to lay her head on each night. What if I asked a mother who just lost her son to tribal conflict and war? I think she would describe heaven as a peaceful place where there is no fear or death. Of course these are all big, complicated, and difficult issues to find solutions to which can be so overwhelming it becomes paralyzing. But I believe that God’s strength and grace is sufficient enough to empower me to help realize his kingdom in the little corner of the world I reside in. Imagine what this world would be like if everyone was doing their part to help realize God’s kingdom here, today.

Thus lies the answer to my own question. I do “this” in order to live out God’s kingdom now. It is a conviction that is placed on my heart, albeit sometimes waning by the end of the day. Thankfully, the sun always rises and with it another opportunity to live heaven now by helping hungry children grow food; presenting HIV/AIDs awareness in an effort to save someone’s mother, son, sister, or child from a preventative disease; or building roads which provides a community access to markets in order to be economically successful.

So now I ask the question, which I have also never asked before, how can the people around me and you experience the kingdom of God in their own lives today? Oh God, may thy kingdom come on this earth as it is in heaven.

(This was written a few weeks ago but never posted)