Heaven on Earth

I love this song by Stars Go Dim! If you’re following my blog, you know how I am a big fan of Christian music and its positive, life giving message. Here’s another one I heard on Sirius XM’s “The Message” radio channel today. I have heard it before but I never really listened. The lyrics of “Heaven On Earth” are awesome!

“Seek the Kingdom first,” Jesus advises us in Matthew’s Gospel account. He also says that “the Kingdom is among you,” to the Pharisees in Luke’s Gospel. What is this elusive Kingdom? I believe that Jesus is the Kingdom. To paraphrase an early Church father, Athanasius, the Kingdom was present in Jesus Himself, in his words, deeds, and in His Person. And, because Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit and the power of God lives within us if we surrender to it, the Kingdom of God is here right now. Jesus is here in us as the power of the Holy Spirit is with us now. So the Kingdom still reigns.

What a great reality to contemplate! Some of the words in the song (link below) are:

“Take my heart into Your hands
Come and finish what You began
‘Til I seek Your kingdom first
‘Til I shine, shine
Like Heaven on earth” or shine like Jesus! Be that Light we are all called to be by the Lord. We are called to shine so vibrantly that others are attracted to us. They want to know how we can shine so brightly even in the darkest of times. Then we get to introduce others to the Kingdom!

More words from the song:

“Help me move when I should move
Help me rest when I should rest
Help me give what I should give
All of me, nothing less
Help me speak with grace and truth
Help me fight for those who can’t
Help me love the way You love
Never holding nothing back”

Wow. Love it. Let this be our prayer! Thank you, Christopher Cleveland and Jeff Pardo who are listed as the songwriters. Thank you for this lovely prayer! And remember the adage, when you sing worship songs, you’re praying twice!

The Kingdom of God is among us because the King dwells within us. Not all of us, but even one would be sufficient. But He dwells in so many more than that. Let us pray the words above and then be amazed how God will fulfill them in our lives. Exciting stuff!

I’m not sure I’ll bet back to this before Thursday so Happy Thanksgiving to anyone who is reading this! Let’s always remember to be grateful for the gifts of God. It starts with our very existence. It’s that basic. But it grows from there, in big and tiny ways. All good.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of life! And for the many other graces and blessings You bestow upon us. We are not worthy, but we will always be grateful. Especially for the Kingdom among us, every day!