So I may or may not be taking my very last college class on the white, sandy beaches here in the Bahamas. Although to say I am “blessed” with this opportunity sounds a bit sarcastic, I dare say this is not far from being accurate. Tonight we were invited over for dinner by Dr. David Allen (a well-respected psychiatrist who has taught at Yale and Harvard and has done some pretty significant research). What an honor and privilege it was to sit at this man’s feet and listen to him speak as he ever so humbly shared a little bit of his profound wisdom with us. Also Dr. Allen’s visiting friend and fellow Yale professor contributed to the deeply interesting discussion. Although both of these highly intelligent men possess a lot of knowledge about their chosen profession, they first and foremost consider and identity themselves as followers of Christ.
I keep thinking about what Dr. Allen said about living heaven on earth where we are consciously thinking and seeing God in everything and in every interaction we have. Seeing God in everything is not being enthralled by a certain star at night while star gazing for that would be idolatry, but “seeing God in everything” is gazing at the whole sky and all the visible stars and other things we cannot even imagine that are beyond the what the eye can visibly see while consciously praising God for all its beauty and for the wonder and awe it provokes.
One thing I really love and admire about Dr. Allen is how you can tell he loves talking to whomever he is talking to no matter if it is some naïve undergrad students from a small, private college or a fellow Yale professor. The observation that he seems to always be enjoying himself was confirmed when he remarked how he sees a figment of Jesus in all of us. I don’t think I have ever met anyone who really seems to so thoroughly enjoy himself no matter whom he is talking to or what he is doing.
This morning, in his Sunday school class, Dr. Allen further expanded on this kind of mindset. He emphasized how we must recognize that we are the vehicles of God's presence and love: "if we can only see that our lives are pulsating realities of the eternal Kingdom." Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Dr. Allen pointed out that in Ephesians 2:6 it says that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. As the Jebusites say we go from heaven to heaven. This is something I still need to be constantly reminded of -I need to learn to put a higher value and an increased appreciation on every single interaction I have with every person I come in contact with.
