With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

Ephesians 1:10

When I was six years old, I attended a Billy Graham crusade. There, I learned from Dr. Graham that God loved me and Christ died for my sins. I responded by accepting Jesus into my heart, believing that I would, therefore, go to heaven when I died. This was surely good news, I figured, though it was hard for a six-year-old to get too excited about heaven. It was rather like getting a savings bond for Christmas...nice in principle, but the reward was a long way off.

Throughout my early life, I believed that going to heaven was the most important thing in the world. This earth, I believed, was really just a proving ground for eternity. I sang with gusto: "This world is not my home, I'm just a passing through." The earth and everything it had not lasting value. God cared only about spiritual things, most of all about getting as many of us into heaven as he could.

I still believe that there is life after this life, and that we participate in that life because of God's grace in Christ. Heaven, in this sense, still matters a great deal to me. In some ways, it matters even more than it did when I first became a Christian because, chronologically speaking, I'm much closer to heaven than I was forty-nine years ago at that Billy Graham crusade.

But, as I have studied the Scripture, and as I have encountered verses like Ephesians 1:10, I have come to understand that God cares, not just about heaven, but also about earth. God cares, not just about life after death, but also about life before death. His plan for creation is not just to save individual souls through Christ, as wonderful as this is, but also to unite all things in Christ. God cares about heavenly things, what we might call spiritual things. And God cares about earthly things. And so should we.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: What do you think God cares about? Does God care more about heaven than earth? Why does God want to unite heavenly things and earthly things in Christ?

PRAYER: Gracious God, how thankful I am that you have saved my soul, that I have the certain promise of heaven. How good it is to trust you, not only with this life, but with the life of the future.

Yet, I also thank you for caring about earthly things. Thank you for being a God who feeds the hungry, wipes away the tears of those who mourn, and sets the captives free. Thank you for making a difference, not just in the world to come, but also in this world.

Help me, O Lord, to have your vision for creation. Help me to have your passion for heaven and earth. Amen.