On Earth as it is in Heaven

"When I get to Heaven, will the sea still be green?
Will the sand taste salty, can you hear the seagull beat her wings?
Can the waves still dance while the tide makes a foam?
I might miss the ocean when my soul goes home.

When I get to Heaven will the garden still perfume?
Will the lilies greet me in their velvet white bloom?
Will blossoms go to sleep at night and open for the day?
I might miss the flowers when my soul goes home to stay.

They tell me that it's lovely there, that gates are made of pearl
That all the streets are paved with gold and jasper walls surround the world.
I understand that shadows flee and everywhere there's light
But what about the moon and stars and dreams I dream at night?

I never thought I loved the Earth until I held your hand
I felt you take my heart and you made me understand
That God is love and touching Him was also touching man
So dance in the grass let the Word become flesh and wash the world in sun.
And thank the God of Heaven and Earth until my soul goes home."

When  My Soul Goes Home,  Cynthia Clawson

I am constantly amazed at how many Christians want to give their lives away.  Healthy people who have everything going for them including a family, friends, a home, a church and financial resources want to "go home and be with the Lord."  The New Testament and Christian songs suggest that Heaven is a beautiful place of eternal bliss. No more darkness. No more dying. No more pain and sorrow.  And maybe it is. Who knows?

A few years ago I was in a situation where I had little choice but to attend a Southern gospel quartet singing. There was a time in my life I enjoyed this kind of music, but that was many years ago. It was an obligation that I tried to make the best of.  One of the singers was a young man in his late twenties who, according to his own testimony, wanted above all   for Jesus to come back and take him to glory. Many "Amen"s ensued. He was twenty something and only wanted his life on Earth to end for it to continue in a better place.

When I Googled this song to find the lyrics, I was again amazed that many of  the comments said that this song is about the beauty of Heaven.  How can they hear this and think that?  "So dance in the grass, let the Word become flesh" is about Heaven? This song is about the  Earth and man, the crown of God's creation.  Jesus Himself said that  "the kingdom of God is within you."  The kingdom of God is now. And here. We don't have to yearn and pine for some other time and place.  All of the resources of God's grace and love are available here. The beauty of Heaven is here. If you read the lyrics closely, I think you'll agree that the song even  suggests that when we get to Heaven we might want to die and go to Earth.

I think we often  fail to notice the incredible beauty all around us.  I certainly don't have to board a plane to find beauty.  I am surrounded by pristine beauty here in the north Georgia mountains where I live.  But in June of 1975 I found myself on a fjord cruise near Oslo, Norway. The beauty was more than I could comprehend. I felt that I had fallen into the pages of a children's book and was somehow looking out at the world through its pages.  The snow capped peaks reflected into the blue water creating the illusion that the water was as deep as the surrounding mountains were tall. And Niagara would have had to admire the waterfall that cascaded into the pool of blue and green. Will gates of pearl and streets paved with gold be that much better?

And how can you stand at the rim of the Grand Canyon and ask for any more awe and majesty? I've stood at the rim for hours and never got my fill of it.

My second home growing up was at Laguna Beach on the panhandle of Florida. No matter what else we did on any given day, we ended  most days on the beach as the western sun descended into the translucent Gulf of Mexico.  The summer sun seemed to take an eternity to  complete its course. Our shadows lengthened, but the day stood still. On those splendid afternoons, it never once crossed my mind that I wanted to go to Heaven. Why would I have wanted to be anywhere on Heaven or Earth but there?

Clawson's song says, "That God is love and touching Him was also touching man". Couldn't it  just as easily say that 'We can love and touching man is also touching God"?  Flesh made Word.

I like the idea of Heaven.  How could anyone not want to live forever in the beauty of Heaven and the very presence of God? However, if  the new Earth is just like this one less the sickness, hate,  death and dying,  then I couldn't ask for anything more. But if Heaven really is a place of everlasting light, I sure will miss the sunsets.