A View of Zion

I have decided to share what I have learned about Zion/Eden/Heaven on Earth. I call it “Zion” because that is the word I see and feel when I think of the place on earth that is full of love, peace, power, and a united community; a group of people of one heart and one mind. But there are many different titles and many different ways to describe it. Other names are Utopia, Shangri-la, Promised Land, etc.

Not everyone will agree about what Zion looks like, and frankly, that’s good. Not everyone has the same mission, purpose, or intention when it comes to Zion and Her creation. But because we all have a different vision, because we all have a different piece of the puzzle, we might be tempted to think the piece someone else has, which is different than ours, is of LESS or MORE value than our piece. This perspective is the very one that stops us from creating Zion in the first place AND paradoxically, it’s the viewpoint that shows up all along the path to help us find the lost parts of ourselves so we can recreate them into a truly integrated and Zion soul.

At some point, we will be brought together to share our views of what Zion is, and in that experience, we can find the fullness of what Zion really can be. Without one person’s piece and mission, the vision and the full creation can’t be finished. Each has his/her part and each will bring that part about in a way that no other can. The equal valuing of each person and their piece will be the synergy that is the engine of change and power we seek.

In a society where we each person, individually, holds Christ-Like love and also interacts in a manner which supports others but never degrades the self, is the foundation of a Zion Community. The process begins with finding the holy in ourselves and yet never loses sight of the holy in another. The commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself” is understood as an expansion, not a restriction. It’s seen as a true saying, not a commandment to be obeyed. It is just what IS – we will love or not love our neighbor as we love or don’t love ourselves. If we hate our neighbor, we hate something in ourselves, which we may or may not see. Sacred texts tell how that looked 2000 years ago:

 

“One of the teachers of the law came and… asked Christ, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important? The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31, NIV)

I find it fascinating that the first law, is really not that different from the second law. They are both instructions on WHO God is, and how to love Him, the self and others because ironically it’s almost the same. Notice when Jesus tells the people which law is the most important he begins by saying: “the Lord is ONE”.  In this statement which proceeded the commandment, Christ tells the people who to love and how, and in the second he tells them who to love again, but this time he says it differently, but kinda the same.  He says, “the Lord is ONE”.  Meaning God does not see himself as different than any one of us. Christ teaches this clearly AGAIN in the parable of the sheep and the goats. He said:

“Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt 25:40)

He further teaches: “If ye are not ONE, ye are not mine” and that we are to be “one in [Gods] hand.” (Ezekiel 37:19)

God is trying to teach us the truth that if we can learn to love, then we will have all that we want including Zion on Earth, a return to Eden, the Kingdom of Heaven, our Calling and Election sure, and the great and personal Second Coming of the Lord.  How that kingdom shows up here on earth, does not matter so much as IF it shows up, and WHERE it resides.

Our personal second coming will be the coming of the Lord into our hearts, minds, and life as a thief in the night and as a stranger on the road to Emmaus. It will be what we have sought, what we seek, and where we seek it, but it might just look different than we expected because it will be emodied in the stranger and our love and devotion to those who are different than us as much, if not more than those who are the same.  

Zion is coming. And it will overtake us all, but what side of the fence will we stand on? Will we miss it becasue we could not see past the boxes we put others in? Will we be able to find the peace in the storm regardless of what others tell us is true or false? Will we see what others call bad and yet also know what it is profitable and of value to us and God?

Do we have the kind of relationship with God that erases all fear and builds houses of light to support us and everyone God loves? Or are we stuck looking for differences to divide us and keep us seperate so we can be more comfortable and at ease? Paradoxically, a good friend of mine once said that “Building Zion and living in Zion are two very different things.”  We cannot and will not be able to jump into the Zion perspective overnight. We are not created to make that kind of progress that fast. And if we think we can, we might be in for a rude awakening. Enlightenment is the process of seeing everything in our subconcious mind and body clearly and without fear or distortion. It is seeing and knowing how, why and what we do at all times about all things and it is having the power to change them at any moment. We become the master who wields the sword of truth; “Excaliber” or the shield of faith in power and glory, knowing that it is first to be used on ourselves, not others.