In 1977, singer-songwriter Johnny Cash wrote,
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‘No Earthly Good’ The gospel ain't gospel until it is spread,But how can you share it where you've got your head?There's hands that reach out for a hand if you would,So heavenly-minded, you're no earthly good.

Cash penned these lyrics to critique a type of Christianity that may be doctrinally orthodox but does not lead to changed lives. The assessment is shrewd because in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ great subject is the Kingdom of Heaven and the way heaven works to transform Jesus’ followers to live lives of blessing. 

Far from being ‘so heavenly minded that you’re no heavenly good,’ the refrain of the prayer Jesus taught is ‘On earth as it is in heaven.’ As C S Lewis commented, ‘If you read history, you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.’ (Mere Christianity) 

When the gospel was first preached, the ancient world was antagonistic to the ethic Jesus called his followers to. Forgiveness was deeply controversial in an honor-shame society. Diverse community where men and women, Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free were equally valued was unattractive to a segregated society. Caring for the marginalized and vulnerable was considered weak in a society that valued the strong. And sexual purity was considered out of touch in a licentious society. Yet, the changed lives of the early church underlined the goodness of the gospel and changed the world. 

Similarly, today, many areas where Christianity has been the moral norm for hundreds of years are now considered controversial. Yet, transformed lives speak to heaven breaking into our reality and commend the goodness of the gospel. It is only as we proclaim and live ‘In the City as in Heaven’ that the city will see the blessing that comes from knowing and following Jesus.