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Monday, October 12, 2015

The Kingdom is the Happiest Place on Earth



Well here I am, fresh off vacation, currently wondering how I can best return to real life in the real world.  It's harder than I wanted it to be. 

Walt Disney was a genius.  He created this alternative world (although he didn't see it open) where people were supposed to be able to completely forget about reality for awhile.  One of his ideas that has always been intriguing to me is that construction would be hidden from sight at Disney World.  In this magical place, you wouldn't see all of the ugliness that has to happen in order for something beautiful to be built.  I always liked that a lot.  I think I liked it right up until today.

And so, I was a little distraught when we showed up at the Magic Kingdom and found the castle entrance blocked (Oh, please... is every single door closed?  Even the magical ones?) and plenty of cranes... and construction workers... and noise...  It felt like real life.  I was not looking for real life.

If I'm honest, there were a few moments of disgust when passing by the castle moat and courtyards.  This kind of mess is not supposed to break into the Kingdom.  Oh... crap...

What if the Kingdom breaks into our messes?  Not the Magic Kingdom, of course, but what if we allow the Kingdom of God to break in?

So often, I think we view the Kingdom of God as something to come.  Maybe we even view it as something of a fairy tale, disconnected and protected from the reality that is life happening all around us.  When we view it as something that will one day appear out of nothing, without any sweat, blood or tears, without any mess or noise; I think we deceive ourselves.

Perhaps the Kingdom of Heaven is, instead, like the happiest place on Earth, where dreams come true, not simply because we wish for it to be so, but because people join God and work through the heat and dust and ugliness to create something beautiful together... to create something beautiful for others...

I desperately want to engage calling like that.  Can I still wear my tiara?

L.

2 comments:

  1. Nice, Lisa. This gives us something to ponder. Bresee taught that all healing was divine healing. That opens up a lot of doors for discussion.

    Walt

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Walt. This is an interesting thought from Bresee. In some ways, I think we could say that all "everything" is divine. Of course, that might open the door to Calvinistic thinking, which is not what I would intend, at all. Instead, I would say that the ways in which God chooses to work with humanity make all things sacred...

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