The concept of “terraforming” comes from the world of science fiction. It’s basically the process of modifying an entire planet, including its atmosphere, temperature, topography, and ecology, in order to transform it into a place that can support human life. The word means “earth-shaping.” Science fiction often employs this idea when telling stories that take place hundreds of years in the future when mankind colonizes planets throughout the galaxy by terraforming titanic wastelands into earth-like oases.
Amazingly, science shows us how we could actually start doing this today—in theory. Here is an incredible video that describes how this could be done, starting right next door to us on the red planet, Mars…
Mind blowing.
What really grabs my attention, however, is how the idea of terraforming closely parallels the Lord’s prayer. But you’ll probably need some explanation for that statement…
The prayer “on earth as it is in heaven” involves an agreement with the great will of God—that the realities of heaven would manifest on earth.
You see, in reality, the earth has been the true “red planet.” We’ve been covered in the blood of war and genocide with a landscape of religious and political barrenness. And so Jesus arrived like an astronaut from above, teaching the disciples to pray that this red planet would be transformed into a blue and green orb of heavenly glory—earth as it was originally meant to be.
Though it is hard to see from our small perspectives (which are so impacted and filtered by news corporations and religious institutions that make their money off of fear), God has been actively answering this prayer throughout the ages. Jesus equipped His disciples, the awakened children of God, to actually go out and terraform the earth. Jesus showed us that the hostile atmosphere of bigotry, the suffocating temperatures of hate and insecurity, the warped ecology of systemic poverty and human slavery—all of it is meant to be blown up and shape-shifted towards something that is habitable for peace, joy, and justice.
What it Looks Like…
If you watched the video, the first thing you would see in terraforming Mars involves a thermonuclear blast on the north and south poles, which would dramatically shift the atmosphere of the planet and release CO2 into the air by melting the caps.
I believe in a way this is what Jesus did in His arrival to earth. He shifted the polar alignments of the planet, decimating the way that man viewed religion and politics. Up until then, the mythology of bloodthirsty gods pervaded many realms of society and our hope in politics was rooted in man-made systems that are innately susceptible to greed and control.
Jesus shifted these things by revealing a Kingdom of the heart, one that is governed by Spirit and identity, not rules and regulations. He also introduced a God of peace and forgiveness, obliterating the ominous views of the Creator. The God of creation reversed the fearful and polarizing perspectives of Him by mercifully laying down His life in the sight of our religious hatred. This was like a breath of fresh air to a world overheated by fear-mongering gods who ordered about the heavy burdens of religious works and divine appeasement.
Jesus’s death made way for a new beginning and a new way of seeing ourselves and the heavens. It tore the celestial curtain and reintroduced friendship and reconciliation between us and God . . . a reconciliation that is meant to extend to our neighbors. The Gospel is now like that giant orbital mirror that brings about the true light of God’s smile to a fearful and weary earth.
This explosion also exposed the hidden glory that was within mankind. Jesus is called the light that enlightens every man (John 1:9). It is He who reveals the original image and likeness of God within humanity. Over time, this image and likeness became frozen under a false identity of brokenness. So the life of Christ is like an explosion that melts the ice-caps of this hidden identity so that it can spread through the earth and multiply once again.
Through His Spirit, the life of God was released into the whole world, and now when people awaken to this life they are like those bioengineered organisms in the video. They release the oxygen of grace and new life into the world around them. Moreover, when they come together as a communal body, they are like those massive C02 machines. The purpose of those machines was to further build up the atmosphere. Too many places in the earth are lacking a healthy and safe atmosphere of love and acceptance. And so this is the true calling of God’s awakened children. Our love for another one is meant to be a canopy that spreads over the lost and lonely, sheltering them from the hostile elements of rejection and shame.
Terraforming, in theory, takes time. So there is an element of hope and faith in this—even though Christ’s death and resurrection forever altered the poles of this planet and turned things upside. Now we get to participate in this work. So it’s important not to despise small beginnings. Even if you are a single organism of light, you are part of a living entity that has the power to shift the atmosphere and terraform the land. Never think that you are alone in this.
…Having read this post, I’d encourage you to watch the video once more. Think through other ways that the video parallels the work of advancing the reality of “on earth as it is in heaven.”
Artwork by igreeny. Used with permission