Heaven is at Hand

It is not a matter of when you reach heaven; it is a matter of when the Kingdom of Heaven reaches you.

Sam Davis

Throughout the ages, all the mystics have taught the same thing.  The 'kingdom of heaven is at hand' and is here now, but this kingdom must be recognized.  The recognition is a mental act. 

Immortality is here now.  We are as immortal and spiritual as we will ever be, and we need to recognize that now.  We can make heaven on earth.  We have learned all we need to from pain and suffering.  So we can put our burdens down.  Ernest Holmes wrote, “Somewhere the walls of experience must be broken down.  We must learn that we can transcend our previous experiences; that beyond the finite is the infinite.”

There is a beautiful fable about a blacksmith who worked hard all his life.  Each time the Angel of Death comes for him, he asks for more time to help his friends and neighbors.  Finally, he is ready, and when the angel appears he says, “I am ready to go live in the kingdom of heaven.”  The angel laughs and responds, “Where do you think you have been all these years?”

We touch heaven when we make elegant choices, options that tend toward honor, courage, and truth. When we make such choices, we bring the Divine into the presence of the universe and heaven is all around.

Heaven is not a place we go to, but a place we grow to when we help the ones we love and love the ones we help.