Joyful Transformation

Last night I was thinking about the tower of Babel. It was kind of strange because I was reading in my N.T. Wright book “Simply Christian” and he was using this passage in Genesis to make a point. He may have given me a hint that was the direction he was going in, but I was shocked when his thoughts seemed to mirror my own.

I was thinking about the overall futility of man in trying to reach Heaven from earth. Going up real high would only get you to the edge of space and perhaps cause your nose to bleed. It might be easier to find Heaven by going low….on our knees or even prostrate on our face would get us closer to the presence of God. I also realize that we may have been using the word “heaven” wrong when teaching this passage. The word heaven was also used to describe the sky, clouds and everything above the earth in the Bible. Chances are this passage just meant they wanted a big impressive city with a big impressive tower.

This is one area where my belief system has changed and been challenged in the last few years. I no longer think of Heaven as a place separate and apart from earth, but think of it as being all around us. The promise of a new Heaven and a new earth tells me there will still be a reason to have the earth. But in this new earth all will be right with God (2 Peter 3:13).

It is easy to get a little lazy and declare “This world is not my home, I am just a-passing through”, but the reality is the kingdom is among us. The kingdom is us! We should be busy showing that to our neighbors and friends. God was not impressed when men put all of their time and energy into building a great city to make a name for themselves and a tower that would reach up into the heavens. By confusing their language he forced them to move on, to get out and cover the earth. What will it take for us to do the same?