Heaven is Here
My daughter, my son
there will come a day
when the devil makes
a bed for you
at the bottom of the ocean
and you will contemplate
sinking beneath the waves
and letting their rhythmic motion
sing you to sleep
like the song of the siren
But I tell you now,
Make sure you have a brother
or a sister nearby
Who sees you descending
Reaches in with a steady hand
pulling you out.
Loving you enough
to point to the lighthouse
and say “my friend,
over there
is solid ground.”
My daughter, my son
I promise it will be easier to run
But when someone invites you in
Listen to psalm 46:10.
Sit.
Be still.
For an image bearer of God
Is with you,
And they deserve the right to use
more than the words
“good” “okay” or “fine”
to describe their condition.
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of wisdom,
So how can we love like Him
if you don’t even know them?
Them
Each other
My brother
Your sister
Our neighbor
For we are all houses built from the Carpenter’s hands
The gospel is offensive
so we might as well
throw open our doors and start calling people in
Because we remain calloused to the truth of grace and forgiveness
until we ourselves confess our sins.
But don’t worry
Didn’t you hear?
Perfect love casts out fear,
So even if you’re undergoing renovations
or you have a cracked foundation
Fixtures are redeemed with more than one pair of hands,
so humble yourself
and let someone help you stand.
My daughter, my son
You will want someone to dance with
When celebrations come
When victories are won
When the first breath rises in the lungs
of a dead man’s chest.
When heaven breaks open
and leans forward for a kiss
In the beginning there was
Father
Spirit
Son
Three-in-one.
Even then, God
knew He needed community too.
My daughter, my son
You cry for heaven to come,
But did you know, it’s already here?
The gates don’t just squeak,
They scream
wide open
In the sorrow of a soul
Grieving alone
And those streets of gold
are paved beneath the feet
of strangers you have met to meet
And you can hear the angels’ chorus ring
when the church unites together and sings
“holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty
who was and is
and is to come”
Yes, believe it or not,
Heaven is here.
And we have the choice
Between isolation in hell,
Married to ourselves,
Needing not anyone else
Or saying yes to death
To self
Each morning,
By loving someone else,
For who in heaven thinks of himself?
My church,
Heaven is here.
Rae of Poeima 