The Kingdom of Heaven Depends on You: Are you ready?

The kingdom of heaven is right here, right now, so be alert, attentive and prepared to promptly respond because the kingdom of heaven depends on you.

What is the kingdom of heaven? It is not the theatrical bill of goods many of us have been sold. The kingdom of heaven is not a big screen surround sound, apocalyptic action flick found on another planet providing a happily ever after life. It is not something beyond ourselves that we can find or purchase. It is not delayed payment for a life of obedience, right belief or belonging to the prescribed tribe. The kingdom of heaven is the light that shines from the center of each one of us, inspiring and inclining us to reveal God’s presence and action on earth today.

The poetry of the 16th Century Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila illuminates this wisdom.

God has no body but your.
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which He looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which He blesses all the world.
Yours are the hands, yours are the feet,
Yours are the eyes, you are His body.
God has no body now but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
compassion on this world.
God has no body now on earth but yours.

When we cease looking beyond ourselves and the present moment for the kingdom of heaven, when we turn around and direct our attention inward, the light of our self awareness and our God awareness grows. The apostle Paul describes it this way, “It is no longer I who live but Christ (God or Divine Presence) who lives in me.” (Gal 2.20)

When we remain alert and attentive, the bridegroom (representing God in Jesus’ teaching tale) comes and takes us into the wedding banquet. (See full text below.) This is the mystical union or marriage; the realization that our interior light, the essence of our true self, is not other than God’s light. Our experience of enlightened relationship in and of, with and through God naturally inspires and inclines us to embody and express the grace and goodness of God’s presence in our earthly endeavors, thereby enlivening the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Unfortunately we humans have been lured into settling for much too little. We are not ‘only human,’ which I believe is a paltry excuse to be idle, indolent and willing to expect little of ourselves. We are fully human and divine, creatures made in the image of God, imbued with the wisdom of God and intended to act decisively to reveal God’s presence on earth. So what does this look like?

I believe it looks like the wise bridesmaids in Jesus’ parable about the kingdom of heaven. All of us are as bridesmaids, meant to be in intimate relationship with God. The question is, are you a foolish or a wise bridesmaid?

The minds or consciousness of the foolish bridesmaids are dark. The lack of oil for their lamps represents their lack of expectation that God is with them even when they cannot see or experience God present. The foolish bridesmaids fail to cultivate their interior light and consequently are not prepared to promptly respond to the signs of God’s presence.

By contrast, like lamps with ample oil, the minds or consciousness of wise bridesmaids are illumined. Even in the midst of darkness the wise bridesmaids expect to experience God with them. They have done the work of cultivating the interior light of consciousness and are actively attentive. Being actively attentive wise bridesmaids are prepared to promptly respond to the signs of God’s presence with them.

This is what we learn from the tale of ten bridesmaids. 1. We must expect to experience God with us, even when we cannot sense it. 2. We must cultivate our consciousness to be alert and attentive to the signs of God’s presence. 3. We must be prepared to promptly respond. 4. The way we respond is the embodiment of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Returning to the wisdom of Teresa of Avila.

I Will Just Say This

We
bloomed in Spring.
Our bodies
are the leaves of God.
The apparent seasons of life and death
our eyes can suffer;
but our souls, dear, I will say this forthright;
they are God
Himself,
we will never perish
unless He
does.

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Learn more about me at https://www.debraasis.org/ All words are generated by grace and the grit of a real human being. Debra Asis

Matthew 25:1–13 Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”