John 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
People sometimes ask me,
What heaven is like?
And
How do you get there?
Our culture is full of really unhelpful and unappealing images of heaven...
People in nightshirts sitting on clouds playing harps.
Shiny blue and silver skies, with angels, and rainbows.
A Hollywood style white stair case leading up to wrought iron gates in the sky.
Our culture is also full of unhelpful and unappealing ideas about how you get to heaven.
If you're good, although we don't seem to agree about what being good is.
If you believe the right things, although we don't seem agree about what things you have to believe.
Some people think just a few people make it, some people think everyone gets there.
Being a Christian I tend to go with what Jesus taught.
Jesus spoke of heaven not as a place but as a Kingdom, so that's what I believe.
The Kingdom of Heaven is anywhere in this world or the next where God's good and holy will is done.
In the next world, the eternal world, God's good and holy will is done, in this world – not so much. We tend to do our own thing, follow our own inclinations, and not really care too much about all that is good and holy.
Jesus taught his disciples that they were to work to extend the Kingdom of Heaven into this world. Remember, he taught them to pray, “your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
They were to heal, to forgive, to be kind, to help others in need, to take especial care of the weak and vulnerable, to call out injustice and unfairness, to love each other, and to love God.
He didn't compare the Kingdom of Heaven to people sitting on clouds playing harps, he said it was like a mustard seed, or a hidden treasure, or a man going out to sow a field. Ordinary things that show how God works. If heaven sounds unlikely or unappealing then read the accounts of Jesus' life and teachings in the bible. There you will see that the Kingdom of Heaven is about the fundamental things of life, about family and friends, about healing and forgiveness, about growth and new life, about the things that really matter to us.
If people ask me what heaven is like I tell them that they already know, that they have experienced it. In the love of family, in the love of friends, in the loving service of others, in pursuit of the things you love that are life giving, in these things that are most important to us – we have experienced the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.
The bible says, “God is love, and those who dwell in love, dwell in Him, and He in them”.
So, if you have experienced love, and by love I mean the sort of self-giving, healing, generous love seen in the life of Jesus, then you have experienced heaven on earth, because where that love is – there is God.
You get to heaven in this world by following the teachings of Jesus, and that's how you get to heaven in the next.
In our bible reading we heard how Jesus came down to earth from above, the reading refers to Jesus as the 'Word', so we heard that Jesus has always been with God, that all things were made through him, that in him was light and life, that he was God, and that he stepped into human flesh to live as a man.
God the Son became God our brother.
Jesus lived a human life to teach us how to establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, and the way that he taught leads us to heaven in the next world.
Jesus came down to show us the way up.
Here's the really surprising thing – eternal life with God is not earned, it is God's gift to all.
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus show that God forgives.
So accept God's freely offered forgiveness.
It is the key to the gates of heaven.
Knowing that God loves you enough to show in Jesus that He forgives the wrong you have done, and invites you to live in eternal life in this world and the next, enables you to begin to love others, and love Him, as you should.
Christianity starts not with being good, but with being forgiven.
What heaven is like?
And
How do you get there?
Heaven is dwelling in the love of God, and the way to get there is by turning to accept that freely offered love.
Amen.