Article February 15, 1993 Issue

Following Christ here and now

Do you believe the world is flat? Do you believe that heaven is far away?

Paul Shankwiler

Christopher Columbus did not leave behind a flat world and set out in search of a round one. Nor did he intend to change a flat world and make it round. But as a result of his journey, people did gain a more accurate view of our planet and its continents.

A man who lived many years before Columbus presented a view of the world that was far more radical. Christ Jesus devoted his life to proving to a skeptical population that our world is not structured as our physical senses would have us believe. He understood and demonstrated the present reality of spiritual existence. Jesus did not attempt to change a physical world into a spiritual one. Nor did he suggest that we leave behind an existing physical world and wander the galaxy in search of a spiritual one. He stated clearly that "the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The kingdom of heaven—the perfection of spiritual existence, of life as God, Spirit, has truly created it—is present here and now to be discovered and progressively demonstrated. We therefore can experience its benefits here and now. As the Bible records, the man at the pool of Bethesda did not need to wait for the troubling of the water in order to be healed. The disciples, riding out a storm in a boat, did not need to wait for a weather system to dissipate in order to find safety and calm. In these and other instances, Jesus' correct, spiritual view of the situation overshadowed the confused, erroneous view presented by the physical senses, and healing followed.

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