Heaven and earth come together in a remarkable way at the Sermon on the Mount, and particularly the Beatitudes. There on that mountainside, Jesus lets the crowds draw near and begins to teach, and He shares a new way of Kingdom living.
Have you ever noticed that He promises at least two remarkable gifts to those who walk in this new way of living? Jesus says that ultimate spiritual well being, "blessedness", belongs to those who walk in humility and meekness-- those who in their spiritual poverty recognize that everything belongs to God. Jesus promises the Kingdom of Heaven right here, right now. And he promises an earthly inheritance in the future-- a "perpetual inheritance in the land of the living," as Augustine puts it.