I wasn't always a professional spiritual guy. I spent my first 4-years of college studying architecture and working part-time as an engineering draftsman. I was pretty good at it, but came to understand that it wasn't my calling...and subsequently went (kicking & screaming) into ministry...which is another story.
While I was studying Ephesians chapter 2 the other day, I did some study about the Greek word translated into English as "heavenly-realms." It's the word "epouranios", which is from "epi"-on, upon, against, fits, on the basis of....and "ouranos"-heaven.
I had the epiphany that the Kingdom of God is like when I was designing something and would use "onion-skin" to help with the design process. We would make a base drawing, then use onion-skin - a very thin and transparent layer of vellum - to superimpose design options on top of the drawing to see how they would look. For example, if I was designing a house floor plan, I could use onion-skins to explore various layout options for interior walls or exterior landscaping. It has occurred to me that this is what it must be like for the Kingdom of God among us. Although we cannot "see" the Kingdom, its realities are all-pervading and ever-present...like an imperceptible layer of higher-reality that superimposes and interacts with our daily lives, pasts, and futures. This is an incredibly accurate analogy for how scripture views the "heavenly-realms." It's not "over there" or "later"...it's right now, among us. It's not limited to space & time like we are, it's an additional layer superimposed upon space & time, interacting with it...us....me....you.
Kind of like when Jesus would say things like "he who has eyes to see, let him see." ....or in Luke 17:20-21 when He said, "Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, 'The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.'”
So, the question is, which reality is more real?...and how do we live into that one?
Hi Shawn, great thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI tried to post two times but lost them both. Has anyone else mentioned having difficulty? Is there any way to save and come back to what you're trying to post? If I go off my current screen to check something or look up passages etc, what I've been writing disappears.
Also, sometimes I'm unable to scroll up and down to review what I'm writing.
Thx,
Keith
Keith, sorry to hear about your difficulty with the comments! I haven't had any other reports like that...wondering if it may be related to your computer? Sorry!
DeleteShawn- the analogy of the onion skin made me stop and think: we peel that part off and discard it. It has no use for us. It is dry, has little visual appeal and has no assumed value. Is it possible that, at times, we look at the "heavenly realms amongst us" and take the same approach? We are to busy with life to apply the overlay! Just food for thought. -Rick
ReplyDeleteWow, that's really good stuff Rick! Great thoughts, thank you.
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