A New Heaven and a New Earth

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that^[i] the creation itself will be liberated from its to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. ²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.

Romans 8:18-22, NIV

As I continue to become aware of the planetary and societal concerns of our planet, I cannot help but wonder if Paul’s words were written for us today.

We are between times, between the end of one era and the beginning of the new. All of our environmental and societal issues seem to be Earth’s way of crying out for us to get on with it and take hold of all the exciting and wonderful things that are waiting for us. Yet we still cling to our old ideas and ways like old and worn out toys.

The future is a worldwide spiritual awakening and we are currently in the labor part of our spiritual birthing process. The future is enlightenment. And yet, the future is now. If we try to grasp for something we will never attain it. We simply awaken to it. We don’t try to get it or earn it, we just accept the gift and we have it. It is already here. It is so close and yet so far away.

¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

I Corinthians 13:11-12, NIV

The reality that we have known is perfect for where we have been. And yet it is so imperfect, because we really have outgrown what we know. Spirituality is on the verge of being part of everything we do. Spirituality is all around us. Energy is all around us. It is ‘face to face’. Science and spirituality are fast becoming inseparable, replacing our current understanding of science which connects the two concepts. A whole new world is all around us and all we have to do is simply acknowledge, accept and live into it. We are like a chick breaking out of its egg, outgrowing the space we are in, afraid to see what’s next.

This is the truth, and truth is why it really is not a big deal if someone disagrees or ridicules our point of view. We can’t allow our egos to get in the way of the truth. It is not a personal issue with us. The truth is the truth whether someone else accepts it or not. We let the truth speak for itself. By engaging in or participating in pointless arguments we in effect diminish the power of the truth. Their disagreement with the truth is more about them than who we are. This reminds me of another Biblical passage, taken from Matthew 13 appropriate for our consideration:

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ²Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the
birds came and ate it up. ⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on good
soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear."

Matthew 13, NIV

Sow the seed, then and move on.