Utopia ...

What do you envision heaven to be?  Must heaven be constrained to a physical location you have yet to see or is it possible to experience utopia in the here and now?  Every dictator in history has thought that upon achieving world domination, the resulting societal structure they would establish would usher in a utopian reality no one has ever seen.  Of course most dictators are unsuccessful in achieving the kind of world domination they believe is required to see utopia established.  The empires that have conquered the “known” world (Rome, Greece, Medio-Persia, Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt) all fell into decay never having achieved their utopian goals.  More recently fascism, socialism and communism all failed as ideologies with utopian goals.  We can glean from this that neither ancient mythologies, nor modern ideas absent any form of God, are able to achieve utopia by conquest.  History seems to demonstrate that no matter what versions of utopia are presented; conquest steeped in blood fails to achieve it.

Consensus then is the remaining ideology presented as the pathway to utopia; consensus in the form of democracy.  If the governed can reach agreement in the majority as to what is best, perhaps what is best becomes possible.  Politicians speak to this idea in every stump speech in every campaign.  They attempt to call out our “better angels”.  They present their ideas on policy as being the best way to move us forward towards the utopia we all desire.  As citizens we want full employment, full insurance, full security, limited governmental restrictions, and as much as possible an end to poverty.  Most political candidates seem to take aim at these various goals in one form or another.  But despite periodic progress in any one of these arenas, almost no one would agree we have arrived at utopia on any individual one of them.  Disagreements about who is to blame, or the impact of countermanding policies ideas, distract us from the realization that perhaps real consensus is simply not possible within a democracy.  If this is true, then perhaps utopia is nothing more than an aspiration that can never be reached, instead of a reality that is part of our existence.

Indeed the Scripture’s ideas of heaven present a utopian paradise.  But heaven is not ruled through democracy, and it does not rely on consensus to move forward its goals and ideals.  Neither is heaven ruled by dictatorship, despite what Satan might have you believe.  God does not make arbitrary decisions that act against your best interests.  I suppose the closest analogy of how utopia works in heaven is a monarchy, but one of a divine nature, not a human one.  Our Lord has been referred to as the “King of Kings” and the “Lord of Lords”.  This language may well have been chosen as it would have been easily understandable by every culture on earth up to the last 2 centuries or so.  But even functioning as a divine monarchy, our King serves as an example of how His government functions.  He who is King of all, is Servant of all.  This concept seems almost beyond our comprehension.  Not many monarchs in the history of earth are known or remembered for what service they provided to everyone else but themselves.  The selflessness of Christ is unmatched in this regard.

Imagine an earthly king who would forsake his throne, to go and sacrifice himself, so that even his enemies would live a better life, setting them free from the bondage they had always known.  Instead, earthly kings seem content to indulge themselves in every pleasure they can imagine.  What good they may do for their respective people is always offset by how they seek to amuse themselves.  And no earthly king has ever thought to voluntarily forsake his entire fortunes, so that he might redeem an enemy.  But Christ has.  Christ, our King of Kings, forsook everything He deserved, every shiny trinket we associate with wealth, the adoration of an entire universe, a throne at the right hand of His Father where the source of all Love is greatest; and came to our world, where we the objects of His affection would abuse Him, reject Him, torture Him, and finally kill Him.  And even in all of this He would pray for mercy for the very ones who put Him to death.  This example sets a bar of self-less-ness that truly defines “why” heaven is an absolute utopia.

Paradise then, is not defined by golden streets, the lack of physical infirmities, gentle wildlife, or even eternal life.  Paradise can only be achieved when self is dead, and every thought and motive is about how we can bring joy to the life of another.  When our concern for reward, and self-aggrandizement is ended, we can serve as Christ continues to serve.  A utopia based on service to others, rather than on pursuit of self.  Once selfish interests hold sway, heaven loses its luster, its walls become prisons, and a perfect being such as Lucifer (once first in rank after the Godhead), becomes a monster capable of killing God to achieve his desires.  The pursuit of self brought into existence pain, suffering, and death.  It brought with it the introduction of all things negative, such as rage, jealousy, hatred, and violence.  It was the pursuit of self that was responsible for the degenerative addiction of evil we are all afflicted with today.  And it is this affliction that robs us of achieving a global utopia for now.  But it cannot rob us completely.

When we know what heaven is based upon, when we realize how utopia is achieved in heaven, and what it will look like for the eons of time we will spend there – we can begin to work backwards and seek to begin living this way in the here and now.  This is not a pointless endeavor based on expecting others to cooperate in a quest for utopia around us.  It is instead a recognition that perhaps the utopian ideals we are destined to live by can begin to take root within us now.  If through submission of our will to Christ, an end to evil is possible today.  If this work is to be completed within us before His return, or should we sleep first, then at His return; perhaps too, our ability to live in full service is also possible in the here and now.  Perhaps too, it will be our living as servants of others, that will influence those around us to seek the author of our faith, hope, and love.  For our testimony to bear fruit, it must become a part of who we are.  If the King of Kings thought it not beneath Him to serve us, then perhaps we should not think it beneath us to serve each other, and to serve those who call themselves our enemies.  This is completely the opposite of conquest, it is instead surrender.  Not surrender of His values and ideals, but surrender of our will and ideas of self to Christ.  We wind up in this way living out His ideals, and love like He loves, in this way we become like Him – servants of all.

What changes about utopia is not its definition in scripture.  It is our ideas about where value and fulfillment come from.  To date, we have too often subscribed to Satan’s ideology that pursuing what makes “us” happy is a boundless enterprise and the only way to achieve happiness.  Our country’s very founding document employs the ideology of the pursuit of happiness.  What changes in our approach of surrender, is that “where” we find happiness is not in pursuing our own ideas, but in service to others, to all others.  It is not natural for us to think in this way.  Our natural inclinations are carnal, therefore founded in the idea of “getting” not “giving”.  But through surrender of the will, what is natural within us, is re-created within us.  We are made new, and therefore begin to think in a new way.  Service becomes an aspiration, and over time one that is seen to be achievable in the here and now.

The fact that perhaps today, you do not get warm fuzzy feelings associated with idea of serving others, should not deter you.  What you are pursuing should not be based in how you feel about it right now.  As with every other aspect of your life, being willing to be remade, is to open the door to Christ to show you the value in loving another, over loving yourself.  Being willing to serve, allows Christ to begin to fashion you into a servant.  Christ does not make or take slaves.  But He is pleased to welcome volunteers to His service, and eager to share with them the happiness that can ONLY be found in  service to others.  In this way we are adopting the very principles of heaven, the very government of heaven, and even absent perfection can begin to see the effects of utopia in our lives in the here and now.  Over time our greatest desire becomes how we can serve Him.  Over time where once was only selfish thoughts, selfish motives, and selfish ideas; our minds are emptied of these things, and in their place are aspirations of becoming a more effective servant, a more loving witness, a more sympathetic person.  These thoughts replace what was once diseased within us.  This is the destiny for which we were and are created.  This was the intentions of God for us, that we would come to see and embrace His wisdom over our own, His desires over our own, and trust Him over ourselves.  When this process is completed in us, we will walk as Enoch walked and be ready to be taken to the throne room of grace.  Utopia must begin within our minds and motives before it can be reflected in the world around us.