I like the view from the mountain top. I like to think of heaven as that place we know in our hearts, where God comes to us and reminds us who and whose we are. It’s a vision of a New Jerusalem, it’s the kingdom alive, it is the world as it was supposed to be. When I experience this vision as reality I am filled with awe, gratitude and the eagerness to participate in “keep on keeping on”. Heaven’s vision is an inspiration to me and I need it most when I am feeling the place where I live has a vision that is becoming more narrow as opposed to wider and more inclusive. When we go “small”, make challenges about who we know, what we know, details, rules, loyalties, we can easily miss the bigger picture, the way heaven is moving us from “me” to “we”.
When the way we process a challenge is to assume “you dance with the one who brought you” life becomes a loyalty test, a “whose side are you on” question that leaves everyone in one of two places, us or them. I try to be on heaven’s side, where the vision is being lived out, what we might do that would bring us closer to who we truly are. It’s not about “me”, it’s truly about “we”. If it really is all about who you know and who you owe then the vision will be compromised, altered, tainted, to suit the person whom we “owe/know”. That is not how I roll, as the young people say. When in a challenging place I rest in the assurance I have already taken the time to know the various “sides” and the nature of the challenge at hand. But my response is more informed by the “big picture” than the loyalty test.
In view of that I read portions from the Book of Acts, the early Christian church, which set out a vision in very challenging times. In the midst of conflicts, claims of privilege and sorting out different rules this community made some bold statements about who and whose they were. Reading them again is a good reminder of our collective vision, the house where heaven lives.
Acts 2
That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
Acts 4
While they were praying, the place where they were meeting trembled and shook. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s Word with fearless confidence. The whole congregation of believers was united as one—one heart, one mind! They didn’t even claim ownership of their own possessions. No one said, “That’s mine; you can’t have it.” They shared everything. The apostles gave powerful witness to the resurrection of the Master Jesus, and grace was on all of them. And so it turned out that not a person among them was needy. Those who owned fields or houses sold them and brought the price of the sale to the apostles and made an offering of it. The apostles then distributed it according to each person’s need.