Heavenly-Minded

Timothy Shay Arthur, 1858

I listened while he talked in a low, serious, tender voice. He was speaking of the home in Heaven towards which his heart aspired.

"There will be no more night there, nor chilling winter," he said; "no more sorrow, no more toil, no more pain; for God is the light of that world, and He will wipe away all tears from our eyes. How often do I find myself crying out with the Psalmist, 'Oh that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away, and be at rest!' I grow weary with waiting every day. This world has no attractions to offer my soul. Its atmosphere oppresses me; its ways are rough to my feet; its touch chills me. I pray continually, O Lord, hide me under the shadow of your wings, until the storms of life are over; shelter me from the burning heats; cover me from the winter's cold ."

And then he sang in a sweet, impressive way —

"Jerusalem, my happy home! Oh, how I long for thee. When will my sorrows have an end? Your joys when shall I see?"

"How heavenly-minded!" I heard spoken from one to another, in a hushed whisper.

"He is ripe for the kingdom," was answered back.

"The world hangs loosely upon him, as a worn-out garment, ready to be cast aside when the Master summons him away. God has endowed him with a double portion of his Spirit."

I walked thoughtfully away when the little company separated. "Is it indeed so?" I questioned with myself. 'Heavenly-minded?' 'Ripe for the kingdom?' 'A double portion of God's Spirit resting upon him?' "What is it to be heavenly minded? How is a man ripened for the kingdom of God?"

I knew a little of the man's past, and present. He had not been an earnest worker in the world; but, rather, an idler and a dreamer . He was something of an enthusiast , and had the reputation of being "gifted in prayer." He talked much on the subject of religion, and spent a great deal of time in preparing himself for Heaven . This preparation consisted, mainly, in pious observances, the reading of religious books, fasting and prayer. In business, he had not succeeded, because he lacked earnestness, prudence, and industry . There was, to his perception, a spirit of worldly-mindedness in these, opposed to religion. It was a letting of himself down into carnal things, which were death to the spirit. Ad so he was very poor, and could sing, and did sing, with feeling —

"No foot of land do I possess, Nor cottage in the wilderness! A poor, way-faring man. I lodge, awhile, in tents below, Or gladly wander to and fro, Till I my Canaan gain."

And he rather took merit to himself for his poverty ; regarding it almost as one of the Christian graces.

I need hardly say, that the wife of this man was a toiler beyond her strength, and that his children had not received the natural and moral advantages that their father might have procured for them, if he had been a worker in the world, instead of an enthusiastic dreamer . The burdens of others were made heavier — because he had failed to bear his own allotment; and evil had crept in at the door he was appointed to guard, because he had slept at his post. And yet he was called 'heavenly-minded,' and 'ripe for the kingdom'.

As I mused, reason and feeling both demurred. I could see nothing of the spirit of Heaven in this; but only the delusion of an unprofitable servant . To be heavenly-minded , is to be in the love of good deeds; and every man who, from a religious principle, acts justly and faithfully in all his relations in life, is a doer of good deeds. This man alone, can become heavenly-minded — he alone, can worship God in spirit and in truth. Praying and singing are of no avail — without acting . They may lift the thoughts heavenward; but only as our feet move are we borne thitherward.

We are in the world for work and duty; and we cannot be righteous, unless we act right towards our fellow-men. Belief in God, and an acknowledgment of his holy precepts, are only as the inception of spiritual life; true vitality and Christian manhood are the results of right living . It is the good and faithful servant who alone enters into the joy of his Lord; only he who performs good acts to others, is accepted.

It is easier to pray — than to work ; easier to believe a certain doctrine — than to practice self-denial; easier to permit the feelings to lapse sweetly away under the influence of tranquillizing music — than to compel self-love to give up its darling scheme. But only in the degree that we overcome our sinful selfishness, which is ever prompting to a disregard of others — do we grow in true spiritual life, and advance in the ways of God. To rest a hope of Heaven on any other ground, is a most fatal delusion.