We believe that Heaven is within us and that we experience it
to the degree that we become conscious of it. The Kingdom of Heaven means the kingdom
of harmony, of peace, of joy, and of wholeness. It is an inward
kingdom. This is why
Jesus
said that we should not lay up treasures on earth, but “lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven.” Heaven is not a place but an inward state
of consciousness. It is an inward awareness of Divine Harmony
and Truth. Ezekiel said, “The
spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold,
the glory of the Lord filled the house.” The glory of God
fills every person’s consciousness who is aware of that
glory. Jesus likened the Kingdom of Heaven to
a child: “Except ye
be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven.” This refers to the childlike
consciousness, to a simple trust in the goodness of God. Emerson said that “Nature forevermore screens herself from
the profane, but when the fruit is ripe it will fall.” The
inner mysteries of the Kingdom of God are hid from the vulgar,
not because the Divine withholds Itself, but because only to
the pure in heart, to the childlike in mind, can the Kingdom
be revealed. One of the greatest of the Greek philosophers
said that this kingdom is something which everyone possesses
but which few people
use.
Encased in materiality, filled with the din of objective confusion,
we do not hear the still small voice which evermore proclaims, “Look
unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” Jesus likened the Kingdom unto “…a grain of mustard
seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field…” He
then goes on to say that very soon this small seed becomes a
tree which puts forth branches. Here Jesus is referring to the
Tree
of Life, which means the unity of God with humankind. The seed
is the consciousness of the little child which becomes aware
of its relationship to the Divine Parentage. Out of this inner
awareness
grows and blossoms a concept of harmony. The Tree of Life expands
and puts forth branches; its shade provides shelter. No matter how small our concept of Heaven may be to begin with,
it has the possibility of eternal unfoldment. The power to live
is within the self, implanted by the Divine. Ultimately, each
of us will realize our inner kingdom, which will become to us
as the
Tree of Life, providing food and shelter, perfection and joy. Jesus did not wish us to feel that, in
seeking this inner kingdom, we are losing anything worthwhile
in the outer life, for he said
that everyone who has sought the inner kingdom shall “receive
manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life
everlasting.” This is in line with all the other teachings
of Jesus, that the reward for right living is immediate. The
Kingdom is not something reserved only for future states; it
is something
which we experience here and now through the manifold blessings
which the Spirit automatically bestows on us when we seek first
things first. In his parable likening the Kingdom of Heaven unto the wise virgins,
Jesus clearly teaches that every person possesses the Oil of
Spirit and that no person need borrow from another. The Kingdom of God is not something we
create, not something we purchase, but something that we must
realize—it is something
we become inwardly aware of. There is a perfection at the center
of each person’s being. The Greek philosophers taught that
when the image—that is, the external—turns to its
prototype, it is instantly made whole because it is instantly
unified with
its inner perfection.
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