When we are in the Kingdom of God as citizens of heaven, we have eternal and abundant life that does not end. Best. Day. Ever. Forever.

There have been countless rainy days, but I never met this one before. Many others I have wished away, grumping at their inconvenience. But this one-I chose to meet: boots on my feet, umbrella overhead, I set out. I listened to the rush and gurgle of the runoff down the hill and the shush of the downpour all around. I stopped to watch the circles ripple out from each drop in the puddles.

Quickly growing bigger from the epicenter of where a raindrop hits the surface, circles of all sizes burst across the water in a random symphony of movement and sound. Perfect circles created by something as abundant and simple as rain adding to a puddle. How can a common thing suddenly become charged with deep meaning, when it was an irritant before? Like math. For many it is a joy, a fun challenge. I always felt like I was an outsider in math class, looking in through a fogged window. It was fascinating to glimpse at but I could never quite see it, and that was really annoying.

Now Holy Spirit, why are you talking to me about math? March 14 is the annual celebration of Pi (π) day. When I heard this, it jumped at me. Not to be confused with pie: apple, pumpkin, pecan, lemon meringue, coconut creme (though the eating of pie customarily happens on this day). Pi is "the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle." In English, please! So if you measure the distance around any circle (circumference) and divide it by the distance across any circle as you pass through the center point (diameter) you will always get the same number: 3.14. That is Pi.

The amazing thing is that this is the same for every circle no matter how big or small. And, this 3.14 number is actually 3.14159265358979323846264338.....and on and on and never repeating to infinity. Meaning it never stops! Ever!

Holy Spirit got my attention here. He spoke to my spirit that this was significant for a purpose even greater than math. God made circles after all, and math is just human beings measuring everything and discovering cool patterns hidden in the world He has made. Clues in a treasure hunt God has placed for us to find as He reveals more of His glory.

Eternity is a circle. It never stops. God’s love never stops. He never stops, with no beginning and no end. Kingdom family, which is all of us adopted as the Father’s children redeemed by Jesus, never stops, just as a circle keeps circling. Eternally. When we are in the Kingdom of God as citizens of heaven, we have eternal and abundant life that does not end. Best. Day. Ever. Forever.

Ok. There is something about circles. A circle is defined as an infinite set of points that are equidistant from a center point or origin. Translation: put a dot in the middle of a piece of paper, and call this the center point. Then with a ruler measure a certain distance away from this center point and place a dot. Measuring from the center point again, place another dot the same distance away. Do this again and again as you turn the paper and eventually you will have a circle that is made of dots all the same distance away from the center point. Think of this center point, the origin, as God. And we are the dots that are placed at an equal distance around Him, to create a circle. My first reaction to this picture is that some people are closer to God than others, so we wouldn't really have a circle. It would be an odd sort of wonky shape. But is this true?

I felt God challenging me. Through the sacrifice on the cross, God made it possible for everyone who is washed by Jesus’ blood to come close. 

“...dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.” Hebrews 10:19 (NIV) 

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Every person who receives the washing of the blood of Jesus is made righteous.

We are righteous when we find ourselves in Christ, standing inside of Him and all He has done for us on the cross. It is only because of our perspective that we might see ourselves on the sidelines. Imagine yourself standing on a dot in this circle. Looking inward we see God at the center. We see how amazing He is and how much He loves us. When we stand on the circle looking outward and away, we can’t see the center.. Instead we see loneliness, shame, fear and condemnation. I sometimes look in this direction and think: “I am not good enough. Why can’t I be more like her? Or him? They are so much closer to God. They haven’t messed up like me. God has seen all of it. How could He love me or want to be near me or work through me?” But this wonky shape is all a deception. The circle represents the truth. Every person who receives the washing of the blood of Jesus is made righteous. This means we all stand equidistant to God. This squashes all condemnation, that tries to keep me away from the Father, and human effort that always leaves me out of the circle because it is never enough.

There is more about circles. On earth we consider everything in a linear timeline, with a beginning and an end. In contrast, eternity is like a circle. Where does it start and stop? We may think that if we sin we are taking a step away from God. Either to the left or to the right. In a line, as time runs, each step takes us farther and farther away from the start. But on this circular road we walk having eternal life, the farther we go the closer we are to returning back to Him. This is because He never stops loving us and His love constrains or compels us (2 Corinthians 5:14). It is a force like gravity that presses and pulls us in the right direction. We are in a circle constraint. This means that love is a restriction or a limitation that hinders us from straying out of the safe shelter of His embrace. Maybe it was the love of his father, continuously encircling him with prayer in the unseen realm, that brought the prodigal home. Just as Jesus does for us.

“And He can give life for eternity to those who come near to God by Him, for He lives always and offers prayers for their sakes.” Hebrews 7:25 (Aramaic Bible in plain English)

“You have encircled (hedged, enclosed, squeezed, pressed, besieged, hemmed) me behind and in front (on every side) and placed Your hand upon me.” Psalm 139:5
(multiple translations)

This is the kind of help that I need and I am so thankful for it! I think Holy Spirit wants to bring us back to the basic shape of our eternity, now and forever, in Christ. When we are clear about what He did for us and how His love keeps us, we can rest in it. Nestled securely in this position we can be confident in times of storms and shakings.