ON HAND for That Which Is AT HAND, but Not IN HAND

Rev. Dr. Tom Long, a beloved preaching scholar and long-time friend of Day1, joins host Rev. Dr. Katie Givens Kime in a moment of reflection in Episode 4197. In this interview clip, Tom draws from the work of theologian Christopher Morse and his book "The Difference Heaven Makes" to challenge our assumptions about Heaven.

Rather than seeing Heaven as a distant destination we hope to reach someday, Morse’s insight—and Long’s retelling—remind us that Heaven is the place from which God comes to us. It’s a shift that reframes not only our theology but our entire posture as disciples: we are not climbing toward God—we’re standing ready for the arrival of divine grace.

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Full Transcript

Rev. Dr. Tom Long

There's a wonderful theologian, just retired from Union Seminary in New York, named Christopher Morse. He wrote a great book called "The Difference Heaven Makes." And what he did in that book was to look at every reference in the Bible to Heaven—Bread of Heaven, Kingdom of Heaven—all of them. And then, when he had looked at them all, he said in the Bible Heaven is not a place we go when we die. Heaven is the place from which God comes to us.

God speaks from Heaven and acts from Heaven. And then he ends with this really marvelous phrase: So the task of a disciple is to be ON hand for that which is AT hand, but not IN hand. That is to say, we should be waiting and looking and expecting that which is at hand, that which God is doing toward us.

And it's not in our hands. It's not in our power and in our control. It's not progress. It's gift and surprise and resurrection. And preachers who preach that emphasize what God is doing on our behalf, rather than what we're doing on God's behalf.

Reflection

What would change if we believed Heaven is not far away—but rushing toward us?

In this clip, Rev. Dr. Tom Long helps us see that discipleship is less about striving and more about receptivity. We are called, in Christopher Morse’s words, “to be on hand for that which is at hand, but not in hand.” That phrase evokes a posture of alertness and humility—waiting for God’s movement with open hands, not closed agendas.
:
- What if Heaven is not our destination, but our origin?
- How might you remain “on hand” for what God is doing that is not yet in hand?
- Where in your life do you sense the nearness of God's movement toward you?

Link to Full Sermon Transcript

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