"Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there! For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." (Christ Jesus' words in Luke 17:20, 21; New King James Bible Version). "Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32; King James Bible Version).
Almost everyone has an innate desire for a homeland…a place where we can be safe and secure, where an abundance of individual freedom exists, and where we feel that our surrounding environment belongs to us, and we belong to it. From a material standpoint, such an environment mainly consists of a piece, or section, of land on planet Earth, with boundaries and laws which maintain our place against encroachment and uphold our right to occupy the property. These larger land acquisitions often become countries, and world wars are fought for the right to possess and own them. The Bible, as well as other spiritual books, shows us a history of conflicts over physical homelands, where residents have sometimes been cast out and replaced by others, only to come back, many years later, to reclaim their rights to the real estate in question. In some cases, both sides feel that it is their divine right to own and occupy such lands, and so they cling to the specific location, literally, with a vengeance. Many people die and families are destroyed from such conflicts because of this materialistic view of what our true 'homeland' really is, and where it can be found. A current case in point, of course, is what is called, The Holy Land, in the middle-east. Specifically, I'm referring to Jerusalem, a location that people from three, world-wide religious groups, (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) each consider to be their own, exclusive property. Biblical history is often referenced for the ownership rights of such property—but all concerned have a dog in that hunt. So, the conflict spills from one generation to the next, almost mindless of even human intelligence—considering the fact that God asks a much higher, and sacred, thing from us: that we love our spiritual brothers and sisters as ourselves, and act accordingly. Yet, since the deep-down beliefs of life (which each individual holds) can make human emotions soar, conflicts erupt daily in that part of this shared planet, we call home. This dynamic exists because all sides are pretty much believing the same thing, (that they are divinely entitled to this certain piece of the Earth's surface). This material sense of right then produces a conflict that will not go away, blocking the peace of God that underlies all life and purpose. So, instead of being all wrapped up in the limited, material view of our divine Holy Land, we may all want to turn our thoughts and perception to the spiritual view, in order to bring about a solution and abundant room for all concerned. For even though space for new homeland 'places' seems to be lacking in the world, it helps to remember that God is still our Source of all good—and God knew of all our places in Its creation, long before any of us stepped foot upon any land on this small planet. What I'm saying is that no one really 'owns' the world, or even a small piece of it. God appointed no one to parcel it out the way we do. Conquering and being conquered is also not the way of harmony in the invisible spiritual universe that underlies reality. The notion that parts of creation do not belong to God, but rather to man, is material illusion. What 'places' are not already manifested in our human experience, the infinite Intelligence within us all is still capable of creating. Just like a kaleidoscope is turned, and all pieces fall into a new, harmonic pattern, so, too, as changes occur in our world, people fall into new, and often exciting places, taking their eternal home, their life in Spirit, with them wherever they go. We are always living within Spirit's realm. We have never left our heavenly home. But we must learn to realize its invisible presence with us and mentally perceive that God's loving presence is with us, as well. Our link to this divine Intelligence, God, is within consciousness. We are all connected to it. We are all equally important to the divine universe we have lost mental touch with. That is the homeland we much reclaim in order to inherit it. In our earthly experience, places change all the time. Our work places, our dwelling places, our career places, and so on, change quite often in today's shared world. Computers and the incredible information at our fingertips have changed this planet drastically, in the last few years. We are freer to move around to foreign places, jobs and homes, than we were before. This is some of the goodness and freedom of the divine will. We share all the goodness and fullness of the divine Creator, wherever we end up being. We don't have to make demands upon the true creation within our innate remembrance. We don't have to move an inch, or make enemies out of our brothers and sisters, to be home. We can't be OUT of our spiritual, 'everlasting-even-beyond-physical-death' Home. So, here's the conclusion of the matter: When viewed from a spiritual perspective, the Holy Land is not a physical location on planet Earth to which we must stay fixed. The divine homeland, and Holy Land, we seek is actually the inner perception of the kingdom of God, invisibly present and ruled by the divine Intelligence, with perfect, harmonious spiritual Law. Within this divine kingdom, which is governed by this infinite Intelligence, there is abundant room for everyone. Spirit's realm has no limits, and this material existence, (which we believe in so strongly) can be adjusted in ways we can't even imagine, once the divine Intelligence is turned to, within our individual, and collective, consciousness, and then trusted with the outcome. But we do well not to outline our own plans in the matter, since our solutions are just as limited as the physical land we covet. We access this kingdom of God, and Spirit's realm of eternal harmony, when turning to the divine Intelligence within, and recognize this divine presence within everyone. No one is left out of God's eternal harmony. When we realize this, we have opened the mental doors and windows needed to bring about the change required in the human experience. The way always comes forward in consciousness to still all strife and conflict, leaving no one to suffer loss or injustice. In the spiritual kingdom of God (the REAL Holy Land) harmony is the Law for all of God's children in the universe. But this universe is a spiritual place—not a physical location. The Creator has never left Its creation. Yet, with the five, physical senses, we have left it, in a sense. We have left it because we don't perceive the presence of the invisible homeland of God's making, while blinded by the mental fallacy of material existence. While keeping thought at the level of physical, fleshly existence, it is only through spiritual enlightenment that we catch glimpses of such a holy realm (called 'Heaven' because of its harmonious nature). These mental glimpses are individual because not everyone outgrows the material sense of things at the same time. We develop spiritual awareness gradually and individually. Christ Jesus and many spiritual prophets, throughout time, have all arrived at the same place: the realization that physical existence is not the true reality of being. Our larger place, and truth, resides in the ever-present, kingdom of God, Spirit, within us. The spiritual teachings we've received from these enlightened individuals, who have shared with the world their spiritual views and experiences, can move us toward our real homeland, which we have never, really, left…nor has it ever truly left us. When we turn within consciousness and find our forever link to God, the infinite One, we are like Abraham, when God said to him, "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever." (Genesis 13:14 &15; New King James Bible Version). We shall then know that we have our Holy Land and homeland, with us, wherever we are and wherever we go. For, living within God's presence is all we need, to be healed of earthly conflicts, and to humanly become healthy, abundant, and loved.
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