There is no shortage of dysfunction, strife, pain, suffering, and spiritual destruction in our world. You don’t even have to turn on the news to find out anymore; people talk. People are afraid. They worry about the future of children, they worry about collateral damage and the economy from wars, and they are concerned for the lack of an end in sight. In short, there is an excuse for hell on earth. We can feel the presence of evil. But we have one thing that Satan can never take from us; God’s grace. No matter the circumstances, we are saved because Jesus died for us to provide us this connection with God.
Instead of choosing fear and worry, let’s choose hope and faith. I have always struggled with the differences between these two and I think it’s because they are so interrelated. While faith is belief in things unseen without the evidence to support them, hope is more of a belief in the promise of a bountiful future. With hope, we believe God will come through. We have faith in God’s plan because we have hope, knowing it will come true. Faith is the means we use to have hope. This is a way we can have heaven on earth. We can believe in the good things God has in store for use despite the evidence that we shouldn’t, because that’s what the world tells us. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ (Jeremiah 29:11)
Heaven on earth might look something like this. Showing out God’s light through our thoughts and actions. Speaking to others about God’s love and his desire to be our best friend. His desire to be in communion with us, when everything else in life will fall apart, giving us a steadfast trust and hope in Him. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) We are invited to put our heart in heaven, not in the earth. Because where our heart is, there our treasure is.
God is our treasure. If look forward to our eternal life in heaven with Him, we can be assured in His promise of love for us. We can be a little pocket of heaven. Let us not focus on the world and the hell around us, that is an empty promise of satisfaction. Only God can satisfy. Lord, help us to keep our eyes fixed on you.
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