All Will Be Well

One of the perplexing parts of the Christian message is what Jesus says about the kingdom of heaven. At times, it sounds like it is far off, or later. But he also says that it is within us. That is what Julian of Norwich experienced one May day in 1373 as she lay in bed, deathly ill. She had just woken up from a dream where the Devil was strangling her. She then received this vision, showing her where she could find Jesus and the kingdom of heaven:

“And I was still awake, and then our Lord opened my spiritual eyes and showed me my soul in the middle of my heart. I saw my soul as large as if it were a kingdom; and from the properties that I saw in it, it seemed to me to be a glorious city. In the centre of that city sits our Lord Jesus, true God and true man, glorious, highest Lord; and I saw him dressed imposingly in glory. He sits in the soul, at the very center, in peace and rest, and he rules and protects heaven and earth and all that is. The Manhood and the Godhead sit at rest, and the Godhead rules and protects without any subordinate or any trouble; and my soul was blissfully filled with the Godhead, which is supreme power, supreme wisdom, supreme goodness. 

In all eternity Jesus will never leave the position which he takes in our soul; for in us is his most familiar home and his favourite dwelling. This was a ravishing and restful sight, for it is truly so everlasting. And it is is very pleasing to God and extremely helpful to us that we should see this while we are here….for he loves and is pleased with us, and so he wishes us to love and be pleased with him and put great trust in him; and all shall be well. ”

Julian’s glorious vision would have been shocking in her day, since Jesus was usually imagined as a distant king on a throne high above in heaven. To find Jesus in our soul suggests that time and space are utterly blurred and distorted in the spiritual realm. There is no such thing as far away. Jesus is always near, and delights to be within us, while also everywhere else at the same time. Julian's visions convinced her that our highest good is to align our wills with God’s so we can walk together every second of this life. And what does that take? Humility, compassion, kindness to others. And the confidence that God loves you, and will happily live in your soul always. Peace.

-Rev. Stephen Milton, Lawrence Park Community Church, Toronto

(Julian of Norwich, “Revelations of Divine Love,” The Short Text, 22).

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