“The ground is level at the foot of the Cross”, is a popular phrase quoted by many people including Billy Graham. It’s a song performed and recorded by many musicians and groups. The original words are by Beverly Lowry, mother of Mark Lowry who wrote the song, “Mary Did You Know?”.

 

The phrase is popular because it’s easy to understand and it gives hope to people when they’re struggling. Every person and all people are the same under Jesus. All of us are children of God and all of us want the same happiness. The foot of the Cross is where we find true happiness.

 

After the evening of our lives there will be a great even-ing of all lives. This is the great evening of the people by God. The great will be brought low. The low will be raised up. The first will be last and the last will be first. Whoever wishes to be the greatest, must become the least. The poor, the oppressed, the lame, the rejected, the sufferers and the lowest will be praised throughout the world.

 

In the great evening, someone who is rich is made average and someone who is poor is made average. All those people considered atypical, become typical. There are no more differences aside from our individual personalities. It’s these individual personalities that we bring to God as equal and humble offerings for the Kingdom of Heaven. The great evening is what unites us under Jesus so we can get to heaven.

 

Level ground is also something required for buildings. If the earth under a building is not level, the building is made level by design. One leaning building in the world makes a nice tourist attraction, lots of leaning buildings in the world is a frightening human tragedy.

 

Building up communities of people must also be done on level ground, where everybody gets an even chance to build up their lives, their families, and their communities. Everyone has the opportunity to build up a society of equality and inclusiveness.

 

This is not simply an idealist viewpoint, it’s the way heaven works. We need to practice the idealistic until it becomes simple, typical and – in the end – it levels us all.

 

Jesus also helps us to be level in our lives. Instead of becoming angry, become even. Instead of becoming overjoyed, become even. This is what it means when we read “Be Joyful Always” – Thessalonians 5:16. We will be joyful always if we can remain level headed and not get carried away with things great or awful.

 

When people become uneven, fighting breaks out, people suffer and people die. Why? Because we can’t help ourselves, we see others as greater or lesser. Why? Because we can’t see straight and level as long as we look up to people or we look down to people.

 

We need to keep our sights on the horizon and not look up to heaven nor down to hell. When our ship is on an even keel, we sail gently towards our destination. When our ship is tossed by storms, we look up to heaven, then look down to hell, then we look up again and we look down again.

 

At the foot of the Cross we only look up and never down. We look up to Jesus and the storms settle, the waters calm and life becomes level again.

 

Jesus came down from heaven to bring us up to heaven. When heaven is on earth we don’t need to look up or down anymore. People will all be even.

 

The ground is always level in heaven.