In Matthew 10:7, Jesus states that “the kingdom of heaven at hand.” This instruction from our Master to his disciples is a topic I had been studying specifically for a few weeks. I was fortunate to find a few very good articles on this topic in past periodicals in our Reading Room. Two of these articles were extremely inspiring. Both entitled “Kingdom of heaven at hand”, one is by Robert Dolling Wells in the Christian Science Journal of December, 1959, and another by C.W. Chadwick in the June, 1905 Journal, page 153. Chadwick emphasizes that Jesus’ mission was to show that salvation was to come in this present world and the distinguishing feature of that mission was to teach mankind the practical proof of the truth of this concept of “heaven at hand”– here, now. He taught that heaven was not achieved by a state called death. Why else would he have come to earth to urge men to “repent” and “believe the gospel”?
These ideas were ringing in my thought when I inadvertently tried to run through a glass door on my way to a tennis match. After bounding back from the blow to my nose and forehead, and after a few confused thoughts, I regained my sense of “repentance”—changing my thinking—and re-established the “kingdom of heaven at hand”, refusing to accept that this kingdom included injury. I began the match, but in a couple of games I began to feel neck pain. My first thought was, “Aren’t you glad you refused to accept the idea of injury in God’s kingdom!” Within minutes all sensation of discomfort or evidence of injury was gone. I was very grateful.
H. C.