UTOPIA: Is it possible?

 

UTOPIA: Is It Possible?

The Lord will speak to anyone who will acknowledge Him, ask, and then listen. He spoke to me about Utopia and prompted me to write about it. As you read the scripture from the book of Matthew 6:9-13 it will be very familiar to most but I ask you to pay special attention to verse 10. Quote, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” end quote. There have been many attempts throughout the ages to bring a form of utopia (heaven) to earth, but it never has been successful. I believe because it has always been man’s interpretation and doomed to ultimate failure because of our imperfection. Perhaps when we really think about it we have to question whether it is even possible. But then again it is in the Bible and conceivably possible. Although it would have to follow God’s definition of utopia to succeed.

What exactly is the true definition of utopia? Websters dictionary gives what I think is a relatively accurate definition, as mankind understands it, and is as follows; “an imaginary and indefinitely remote place: a place of ideal perfection esp. in laws, government, and social conditions.” Well we sure don’t experience that anywhere on earth that I know of. The Garden of Eden has been described as utopia as written of in the Bible, and that existed before the fall of mankind. Once again, do we think it is possible today? Can we be the people God created us to be, and if we could would that be utopia? Can we overcome the evil that lurks in every corner of the world? I have always believed that if we can dream or imagine something it is possible, and if possible then probable, and if probable it can become reality. For this to happen we have to be a unified people willing to pursue the object/goal of our dream or imagination relentlessly, not giving up until we have achieved success. Can we as a people overcome the division, contention, hate and all the seven deadly sins and manifest utopia on planet earth? This would be called God’s kingdom on earth and for this to manifest we would all have to be in agreement to follow God’s principles, precepts and plan for all mankind. Most important we would have to do this voluntarily from the heart and not just in our worldly thinking. The key is to believe without any doubt.

Always comes the question, can we love unconditionally, forgive completely without conditions, embrace equality for all and believe in God’s definition of equity? There could be no more separation of people for any reason, no deception or lies, no division, offense/judgment, or contention, no complacency or apathy, and a willingness to act on our verbal declarations. We should always be willing to help our brothers and sisters when needed. We may ask who are our brothers and sisters? Any human being is our brother or sister. Now this help we offer should be according to the Word of God (Bible) and sometimes it might be perceived as tough love but the best and most beneficial results are what we hope and pray for. As written in the Bible God allowed His people to be tested through adversity many times. God will always lead and should always be our primary focus.

God created and provided for mankind this beautiful planet called earth for us to enjoy and steward well while we lived here. We do not own it, He does. He gave us dominion over it, not ownership. We have to ask ourselves how have we been doing? Can we honestly say we have left this a better place from generation to generation? Have our children been able to enjoy the same beautiful world we saw when we were children? I believe in most cases we have to say we failed. Bringing heaven to earth means we have to steward well this planet to achieve at least an approximation of the health and beauty of God’s original creation. Yes, people are the epitome of God’s seven day creation story and how we treat each other is primary but how we steward His entire creation is critical to our survival and in bringing heaven to earth.

One thing that has been difficult for me to understand is this. Ever since the very beginning of creation mankind has not appeared to have evolved past the primal instincts they were born with. Yes, civilization has progressed technologically in almost every way we can imagine and continues to do so at a rapid rate. However we have retained all of the self-preservation skills we had at the beginning. We still base many of our decisions regarding our forward progress as a civilized society on defense which is fostered through fear and self-preservation. The seven deadly sins of greed, pride, gluttony, lust, sloth, wrath, and envy are just as prevalent today as they were at the beginning of mankind's fall from the Garden of Eden. Can this change? I believe it can but it will require all of us to come into a relationship with God. The only way to succeed in this is if we learn to love, trust, and forgive one another by committing and surrendering our life as we enter into relationship with Jesus Christ. This is the opportunity He provided for us through his sacrifice on the cross. This is the path to true peace and freedom and heaven on earth (utopia).

Love and Peace, Amen

Pastor Walter C. Scott