Heaven part 3
What God wants for us--what He HAS for us--He has already given to us. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." And I know that's like THE Bible verse. But really think about that for a minute. His love for us was so great that He gave us the thing that was most precious to Him. When I read the story of Abraham and Isaac--especially in light of having a son of my own--I always wonder. Doesn't seem like something I'd necessarily be able to do. Which, I suppose, is why Abraham is known as the father of faith, right? He trusted God no matter what. And God didn't make Abraham give up his son. Because there was a ram (a male lamb) caught in the thicket ready to take Isaac's place. Jesus, in a sense, took our place. Drew us into Himself and did what needed to be done. For us. As us. And, for the record, it wasn't God who killed His only begotten Son. It was man who did that. Well... it was man's intention to do that anyway. Jesus sacrificed Himself. Gave up the ghost. Because, let's be real, nobody can kill God. That's silly. But because man needed that second death--our first death was in Adam when he ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (the tree of death) and died--because man needed that second death... Jesus gave it to us. Look at Hebrews 9:27, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." And add to that Revelation 2:11, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." Jesus died for us and as us, so that it wouldn't hurt us. He overcame and that's why we are overcomers. And then the judgment. Not a death sentence but an eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life (of love) sentence! So even if you're convinced that heaven is only available after you die... you've already died! You were crucified with Christ. And now you live. But not YOU... Him IN you. Him THROUGH you. Him AS you. Jesus IS heaven. And heaven lives in you. It's not just WHERE we are, it's WHO we are. Heaven isn't a piece of real estate. It's a state of mind. It's the mind of Christ. It's knowing how much your heavenly Father so loves you. Knowing that you are worth someone laying their life down for you. Knowing that there is nothing you can do that could ever seperate you from the love of God. Living in God's love... man... that's heaven. That's the only way to survive this life, and that's the only way to thrive in this life. To live is to love and to love is to live. You can't do one without the other and you can't have one without the other because they are not just connected... they are the same thing! Heaven on earth is God's love filling us to overflowing and coming out of us in this time and place. Wherever we are. Whatever we're doing. Whatsoever you do, do it heartily--to the best of your ability and because it's in your heart to do it. That's what God wants for us. And that's what He gave us when He gave us His Son. His Spirit. His life. His very own self. That's not what we need, that's what we have. That's who we are!