Heavenly House
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The Bible[1] talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, but when preachers talk about kings and kingdoms, it does not resonate with people today because we have no experience with true earthly kingdoms; we have no idea what a true kingdom would be like. Great Britain is actually a democracy not a kingdom. Before a wider segment of our society will be willing to seek faith, we need symbolism relevant to our lives.
Kingdom of Heaven
Spiritual pleas to kings and kingdoms are no longer meaningful because they call forth images of an absolute monarch with servants hurrying about doing his bidding; they are not relevant in our society.
In the time of Jesus, the relationship between the individual and God was described in terms of the kingdom of heaven because in those days there were real kings, the Jewish people in fact lived in the Roman Empire. The Jewish people were impatiently expecting the messiah to establish the kingdom of God that would free them from Roman rule.[2] They were eagerly expecting the kingdom of God to be established; therefore they would accept nothing else. The concept of a kingdom of heaven has lost its relevancy for our world; our description of a relationship with God needs to be revised for current reality.
Jesus wanted to substitute the concept of the heavenly family for the kingdom idea but he did not succeed.[3] The idea that the messiah would come to deliver Israel from its oppressors and begin the kingdom of God on Earth was strong; the concept of a heavenly family did not catch on because it was too advanced for that time.
Jesus wanted to represent the relationship between the individual and God as a family relationship because, for Jesus, the family was the most important aspect of life. He certainly exemplified this in his personal life, especially when he masterfully guided his earthly family after the death of Joseph. This period of dedicated service to his family is a shining example of a loving father watching over his family. People need to know the true Jesus and that the way he lived was a living demonstration of his teachings.
The primary purpose of the bestowal of Jesus to our planet was to portray to us, and the rest of his creation, the nature of our Heavenly Father. In his family life, Jesus certainly personified the earthly father who is a companion to the children and who is dedicatedly loyal to all of them. Jesus was loyal to such an extent he stayed in jail with his younger brother Jude for more than a day until the case against Jude could be settled.[4] The entire life of Jesus was a portrayal of the loyalty of God to His children. For companionship, God is actually present within us; He is certainly a part of us, guiding and teaching us; our Heavenly Father is the most intimate companion any mortal can have.
It is time for a restatement of the teachings of Jesus, our creator father and our earthly brother. The key element of this restatement is family. Everyone has been part of a family. Some families are more nurturing for their children than others it is true, but we all have some sort of family experience. What could be more natural as a simile for our relationship with God than family?
Characteristics of Heavenly Family
It is vital to understand first of all, that the type of family we are discussing is a loving, nurturing family. In this family, both father and mother care for the children who are loved, and their growth is lovingly guided. We know this is not always the case. Spiritually scarred individuals, as well as the rest of us, need the reassurance of God’s fatherhood, His love, and the very real spiritual assistance that He can give. These individuals are especially in need of a spiritual portrayal of family life; they need to be told God is the perfect father, that He totally loves them, and desires to help them in whatever way they need. This may be difficult for them to accept, especially if their early childhood included experiences of humiliation or violence. They need to truly know our loving Heavenly Father.
In the spiritual realm, we are surrounded and uplifted by the love of our Heavenly Father. His mercy lifts us up out of our despair. God is much more than the friend who knows all about us and loves us anyway. God knows everything, loves us, and in mercy forgives us. God’s Fatherhood surpasses any earthly father. Our material loyalties must be with our physical family: our parents, sisters and brothers, but our spiritual loyalties need to recognize our spiritual family. This family consists of our Heavenly Father and all our spiritual siblings: all the created creatures our Father has brought into being.
Companionship and loyalty are what family is all about; loving parents hold intimate discussions with their children, listen to their problems and help them with their difficulties. They have a deep concern for the welfare of each one of their children. There is also family loyalty, especially among the siblings. A child naturally comes to the defense of one of his sisters or brothers who may be in trouble.
Another fundamental characteristic of the family is love and mercy. True family relationships are built upon these values. Parents are not judges, they are nurturing and caring; their love for the child drives their relationship. Real families are built upon tolerance, patience, and forgiveness. (Urantia Book, 1604.6) A true parent loves their family as a whole, but even more, they sincerely love each member of their family.[5]
Accepting the fatherhood of God
Our Heavenly Father readily acts on behalf of his children in the Heavenly Family. Our Heavenly Father loves each one of us, but He cannot act to assist us until we accept His Fatherhood, until we enter fully into His Family. This acceptance means we recognize He has created us and watches over us. Once we make such a heartfelt declaration we enter entirely into our Father’s family, we become part of the Heavenly Family.
We now have a Heavenly Father who is love.[6] Instead of a king whose motive we may not know, we have a Father who is motivated by his love for his children; a loving father who wants the best for each of his children. We can comprehend the motives of a loving father, our Heavenly Father, and we naturally desire to please him as members of His Heavenly Family.
Once we have made this declaration and entered into His family, we become brothers and sisters with all other believers. This is truly one family under God. Actually everyone is our sibling, only some do not recognize this. They have not fully accepted God into their lives and therefore may have no awareness of His love for them. Each of us needs to recognize everyone as sister and brother.
When we accept, by faith, that God is our Heavenly Father, we become the children of God along with everyone else. Faith is the way we enter into this family relationship. Faith is something that we choose to have, or choose not to have. Faith is a step beyond belief; belief is something we accept, while faith is something that we are willing to stake our eternal soul upon, it is something we accept strongly enough that we will declare it with our dying breath.
Every family needs to function as a united whole; when any part of a family separates itself from the rest of the family there is pain for the entire family. For everyone and anyone, the path of happiness is connection with all our sisters and brothers while the path of sorrow is separation and isolation.[7] The Heavenly Family needs to be a united whole with everyone working for the betterment of everyone else. This might seem to be a lofty goal, but remember our Heavenly Father is assisting us at each step along the way.
The masses truly need to know about the life of Jesus; they need to know how his life was a prefect reflection of his teachings; they need to know the immanence of our Father is a vital part of our being. God is with us and invites each one of us into the Heavenly Family. Within the spiritual realm of this family we find harmony, we attain a greater appreciation of our Father, and we better understand our sisters and brothers. Our Heavenly Family should be the foundation of our spiritual life, the wellspring of our faith and the vehicle for our manifesting the fruits of the spirit in our daily lives.
Further reading
“Light of Truth: Anticipating the Triumph of Righteousness”
Chapter 7 – New Day Dawning
Urantia Book
Paper 82 Marriage and Family Life
Paper 142 The Passover at Jerusalem
Especially section 7 – The Lesson on the Family
Paper 170 The Kingdom of Heaven
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Bible; Matthew 6,33 for example ↑
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All references are to The Urantia Book unless otherwise stated. The number refers to the single column version in the format page.paragraph; 1500.2 and 1501.1 ↑
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1860.6-7 ↑
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1415.6 ↑
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1597.2 ↑
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“God is love” appears 14 times, see for example 38.6 ↑
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“The Book of Joy – Lasting Happiness in a Changing World,” His Holiness the Dali Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu with Douglas Abrams, Avery, New York, 2016, p 99 ↑