Article August 20, 2012 Issue

In heaven on earth

Don Houge

In the fourth chapter of the book of Matthew in the Bible, we read an account of Jesus, just prior to beginning his healing and teaching ministry. After spending 40 days and nights in the wilderness and overcoming the temptations of the devil, he journeyed through Galilee. In verse 17 of the same chapter, we read, “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Why did he say the kingdom of heaven is at hand? What is this kingdom of heaven, and how do we find it? 

According to Jesus’ own words in the Bible, the way to the kingdom of heaven is through living our lives in the way his life and teachings exemplified. In the Gospel of John, he says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (14:6; see also 10:1, 2, 9). He knew heaven because, as Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, said, “Jesus’ true and conscious being never left heaven for earth” (No and Yes, p. 36). 