It’s funny sometimes how the Christian language of A Course in Miracles will throw people, given that it’s message is so contradictory to traditional Christianity. Whether it’s the resurrection, the crucifixion or Jesus himself, the Course serves up a new understanding of a familar principle.
That’s true of the Kingdom of Heaven, too. A lot of Christians define Heaven as a place – up there in the sky. That was certainly my earliest understanding. Later I modified that – with the active support of priests and other teachers – to be more of an energetic condition. It was vague but cloudlike.
And it certainly wasn’t here and now.
It’s interesting. When I glance at the gospels these days, I notice Jesus saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand. And he seems to indicate a lot that it’s hard to notice. It’s like a mustard seed, right? He’s always upbrading the disciples for not getting the point. It’s like he’s telling us that God – that the Kingdom – is right here, right now but we somehow manage to constantly overlook it. It’s hiding in plain sight, if you will.
The Text of A Course in Miracles says that Heaven “is not a place nor a condition. It is merely an awareness of perfect Oneness, and the knowledge that there is nothing else; nothing outside this Oneness, and nothing else within.”
That can be infuriating. Plenty of us do good work – we behave – because we expect some reward. Heaven is the carrot for our good behavior in the world. And the Jesus of the Course is saying that it doesn’t work that way. You can have a Kingdom of Heaven experience right now and right here. Just be with God. Make that your sole goal, the only thing that matters and you’re there.
Yes, I know. Easier said than done. But it’s an important distinction. Heaven isn’t a reward – it’s a choice and it’s one that we can make as soon as we want. We don’t have to wait for prior approval. We don’t need to get the gold ticket. We merely have to ask the Holy Spirit to remind us of our “perfect oneness.” There’s really nothing else to know. And when we know it, we’re in Heaven. We’re in the Kingdom.
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