I saw this today on a friend's blog this afternoon and thought it entertaining.
Indeed, the idea of thinking there's a Utopia here on earth is...gay. But I'm elated I have a Utopia to look forward in heaven. Am I alone in my daydreaming of heaven? I'm by no means a biblical scholar, but I do have a God I love and who loves me and I often like to think about heaven when I feel exasperated or letdown. Revelations talks about the building blocks of this heavenly kingdom being pure gold, diamonds, pearls, jasper, sapphires, emerald, crystal and chalcedony, among others. Can you imagine a wall built solely of precious jewels in the purest form possible? Seriously...it's going to be phenomenal to see. In my art history class we recently learned about Babylon and the lavish decor and architecture Nebuchadnezzar II focused on making his kingdom beautiful as a sign of power and almost holiness in artistic perfection. The Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates to the inner part of Babylon, was more than 38 feet tall and constructed of bricks that had been glazed with crushed blue glass to resemble a bright blue precious stone. Some bricks were gold leafed as well, and in alternating patterns, the bricks were sculpted in relief with dragons, lions and bulls. I don't want to bore anyone that reads this, but this stuff is really brilliant, especially for having been constructed about 600 years before Christ. Special markings were made on the brick's sides after they were glazed so that the illiterate workers could place them together correctly during construction. Pieces of the wall that have been found mostly intact have been reassembled in museums-part of it I'm pretty sure is in Berlin, though nearly half it's original size since the original size simply couldn't fit indoors. The walls of the processional way leading to and from the Ishtar Gate were where the reliefs of the lions were, purposefully placed at the same height of average people so it seemed they were walking with you into the prestigious capitol of the Babylonian Empire. Below are some photos, that I'm sure do it no justice, would it not be INCREDIBLE to hop in a time machine and see this place in its full glory? Keep in mind that ancient Babylon also housed one of the seven wonders of the ancient world--the Hanging Gardens, in the middle of the desert where Iraq is today. Can you imagine a long journey through the beige deserts of the middle east when on the horizon you see the sun reflected off an enormous, vibrant blue wall that seems to be covered in a sheen of precious gems? What this long historical path is hopefully winding towards is a thought that man is certainly capable of creating beautiful structures to show their wealth, power, superiority, intelligence--whatever it may be. If mere man can create such structures that appear so mind blowing, the Ishtar Gate certainly only scratching the surface, we are certainly in for a wonderful surprise when we arrive in heaven. Yet, I am repeatedly reminded that when I pass through heaven's gates, I am sure that the gleaming architecture surrounding me won't be what 'gets' me. I will be in the actual presence with the Lord of the Universe, the being who imagined up the idea of light, created a human body with working bones, muscles, organs and millions of tiny parts working just right together, not to mention a brain that is truly a miracle in its abilities. He set the seasons up with their unique beauty and put Earth in just the right place in the solar system, spun it on a perfectly placed axis, and let it orbit juuust far enough from the sun to warm us, give us summer tans and grow our crops yet far enough away that we wouldn't burn up. This God gave us laughter, a sense of humor, singing voices, daisies and gazelles, and also lives in my heart--an idea that is hard to grasp for me, truly. I'm not sure what I'd say if I shook hands with Pablo Picasso, Tom Hanks, Harriet Tubman, Ben Folds or the President of the United States, but to be in God's presence, so to say, I'll be shaking hands with the 'guy' that invented...everything that is awesome. He made universe that functions, yes, but also looks pretty dang good while doing it. To live eternally in his glory, giving praises back to Him in a perfectly harmony of angels and Mary, Moses, Peter, Martin Luther, Corrie Ten Boom, relatives, and millions of other believers gives me goosebumps to think about. And of course, John 3:16 tells of how he, HE, loved you and you and y
ou and well...the whole world, and, well, the Message version of the Bible says it in an interesting light: 
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