Heaven on Earth – Cultivating Relationships in the Here and Now
Heaven is a place that the Christian looks forward to going after death. Traditionally, heaven is a place that we think of as off in the distant future. I won’t argue the fact that this world has nothing to offer that is anywhere close to what heaven has to offer, but I will submit to you that we can begin to build relationships with those around us that will continue on into heaven.
[pullquote]When we leave this earth and enter heaven, we won’t be taking anything with us. The only lasting thing that we can begin building here that will last in heaven are the relational ties that we’ve created with one another.[/pullquote]
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, my wife is the social one in our relationship. Walking through our small town with her is like walking the streets of Hollywood with a major celebrity. I don’t think there has ever been an occasion while walking that we don’t experience at least one car horn blaring and hands wildly waving at us in all directions.
I’m the loner in the relationship. I’ve always been that way. The social aspect of my life has always been somewhat lacking and I’ve enjoyed it that way. The only form of love I have ever known is the love for my spouse and the love I have for my children. My wife however has shown me a different kind of love. She has shown me that some people can indeed be trusted.
I’ve learned that there are some people that I can let my guard down around. This truth has been graphically displayed for me in our small group at church. I’ll never forget the first small group meeting we attended. In my mind, these people were weird. The group was a multi-generational hodge-podge group of people from every background you can think of who ate together, sang songs together, prayed together, and shared their problems with one another.
Love Transcends
What I remember most about the group were the children. There was a white little girl in the arms of an Asian woman. There was a black little boy being cared for by a white guy. There was a mixed race little girl being cared for by a black guy. And all the kids were referring to the adults as Auntie and Uncle. It took a few months before I could figure out what kid belonged to which parents.
When our small group comes together, they are one group and the responsibility of parenting rests with all the adults. I left the meeting asking myself what kind of commune I had gotten myself into! But we decided not to judge based on one meeting. We attended a few more meetings before we rendered a final judgment as to whether this group of weirdo’s was right for us.
The Love Of God Attracts Us
I’m so glad we didn’t judge! After 18 months, I love my small group family more than ever. The relationships that we have formed with one another are priceless. Our small group has spun off into a Men’s Breakfast on the first Saturday of every month, and we just instituted Friday Date Nights for the married couples that take place on the third Friday of every month.
The reason why I was so apprehensive about the group in the beginning was because I had never been exposed to love like this in a group setting. The people in our group genuinely love one another. When we leave this earth and enter heaven, we won’t be taking anything with us. The only lasting thing that we can begin building here that will last in heaven are the relational ties that we’ve created with one another.
I’d like to encourage you to begin building relationships with your brothers and sisters in Christ. In heaven, the love we have for one another will be evident, but why wait until then to begin creating bonds that will last throughout eternity.
As you begin to build relationships by allowing the love of God to pour out through you as if you were already in heaven, you will become a beacon of light to those around you. The end result will be the embodiment of the love of God shown to a dying world.
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