“FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS,” MY WAYS, DECLARES THE LORD. “AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS THAN YOUR THOUGHTS” (ISAIAH 55:8-9).
TODAY’S DEVOTION
I have a dream that before I die I will see and be part of a dynamic, growing community of people among whom there is no sickness, no poverty, and no want. Everyone will be debt free. Depression, worry, and despair will be unknown, every marriage will be strong, successful, and happy, and all the children will respect their parents and live completely free of fear. The entire community will worship the Lord in perfect unity and harmony and with a single common vision.
People from outside will be amazed at what they see. “Do you mean that out of these 50,000 people, nobody is divorced? Why not?”
“Because in our community we don’t believe in that. We believe in fixing things up, in repenting, reconciling, and forgiving. That’s our nature, our culture.”
“Do you mean to tell me that among these 200,000 people there is no incest? How can this be?”
“Because in our community such a thing is detestable. We love our children. They are made in God’s image and we care for and protect them. That’s our culture.”
“Do you mean to tell me that out of half a million people, nobody tells lies?”
“It’s true. Lying is unheard of in our community. Truth is our currency. In our community, truth is not the best policy—it is the only policy.
I dream of the day when this will be reality. Fantasy, you say? Utopia? No, simply Kingdom culture in action.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Eight)
CONSIDERATIONS
1. We dream of Heaven because we can’t find the community we want here on Earth. Describe a few life circumstances that make believers dream of Heaven rather than face situations.
2. Why is the concept of Heaven on Earth so hard to accept?
3. What will it take for believers to stop dreaming about Heaven and embrace a Kingdom mindset?
4. God’s purpose has always been to build a heavenly community on Earth, a community that would reflect in the physical realm the: __________, ___________, __________, ___________, and__________and__________character of His Kingdom in the spiritual realm.
5. The word community comes from the words “common unity,” and refers to a group of people who share a common language, food, dress, lifestyle, customs, values, and morals. Name a few commonalities that bind your neighborhood or church together.
MEDITATION
Our assignment as Kingdom citizens and ambassadors is to learn—and then teach others—how to apply the Kingdom to business and bodily health; to single life, marriage, and parenting; to investments and speech; to relationships and professions; to government and media. We have to reintroduce the precepts of the Kingdom of Heaven, the values, morals, principles, and standards by which our society is supposed to live. God’s plan, then, is not—and never has been—to establish a religious institution, but to build a living, breathing, and thriving community that reveals to the world what He is like as well as the quality of life under His government.
(God’s Big Idea, Chapter Eight)
Dreaming about Heaven isn’t wrong, but living for God’s glory now within the Kingdom of Heaven is His desire for us. Are you dreaming or living?