Every story has a beginning, a middle and an end. They often follow certain patterns and can be classified into various genres such as fiction, drama, biography etc.. But what makes a story good? What is it that makes one better than the rest? Rob Bell in his new book, Sex God makes a point that resonates with these questions. He mentions that the reason that Alfred Hitchcock’s movies are timeless is because they don’t show you everything. You have to fill in the blanks and use your imagination. I think one of the things that a good book does is hint at things, but leave room for the imagination. This is why I find the Bible to be an amazing book. God knows that we are curious people and so he entices us with small glimpses into the unknown, causing our minds to go racing. Some of the most sacred and divine things in the Bible are merely hinted at.
What do you think of when you hear the word Heaven? We often associate heaven with many stereotypes and various concepts that aren’t even in the Bible. But maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Maybe God’s intent was simply to make us want it that much more. If God told us absolutely everything then we wouldn’t have any reason to dream, and dreaming is often what inspires the greatest art. If we knew all the details then we’d probably have a lot less to sing about, talk about and write about. I love when Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” and then he says something. I think we ourselves could do this very same thing. We simply have to find something that is good, something that is true and compare it to the kingdom. What is heaven? Heaven is where God is. So to understand what heaven is like we have to understand what God is like. When a man leaps in front of a bus to push a child out of the way, that is a glimpse into the kind of God we serve. We see here that God is sacrificial and loving. God speaks to us in so many different ways, whether it’s through a blog, passage of scripture or footprints in the dirt.Each time that God speaks to us we can learn something about him, and get another glimpse into what heaven is like. We as Christians have made a big deal about trying to act like Jesus. We say things like, “what would Jesus do?” but maybe a better question would be, “what would this look like in heaven?” How are we bringing to reality the kind of place that Jesus describes in the Bible? Maybe when Jesus says “the kingdom of heaven is like…” what he’s really saying is, “live like this.” When someone wants to know about the God we serve they often look at us to see his reflection. We are bearers of the divine image of God.
So may you use your imagination to dream and explore the vast mysteries of God. May you find God in the everyday situations. May you see God and because of it get a glimpse into the very realm of heaven.
May you know and understand that you are a bearer of the divine image and may you live in such a way that Jesus could say, “the kingdom of heaven is like you.”
“THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE YOU.”
