In the kingdom of God the surest way to lose something is to try to protect it, and the best way to keep it is to let it go. ~A. W. Tozer (1897-1963) And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. ~ Jesus, Son of man, King of the Universe in John 12 Oh beloved, we know its true. We just don’t like it sometimes. Loss = gain Die = Live Suffer = Joy Humiliation = Glorification, And so goes the mathematics of the Kingdom of Heaven. Oh they are backwards from the things we know. But then, as we give up trying to comprehend these truths through our own human intellect, and we quit trying to try these truths against the paradigms of this world’s system of weights and measures – suddenly, life makes sense. We see that it is not that the math of the Kingdom is backwards… it is indeed the world that has it wrong. We begin to unplug from ourselves and yield to the specifications designed in by our designer. We (humans) were not built to run on our own power. We were designed to run fully on and in Him – and Him in us. And in that moment, we come to a decision. And the only reasonable decision is to give ourselves fully over to the One who can actually run our lives successfully 🙂
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
~ Romans 12:1-2
And in the moment where we make this decision… the most incredible thing happens. He gives us our life back. But He gives it back new. Not just rebuilt – transformed. And we see something further. The return on investment in the Kingdom is nearly infinite! Any sincere act of obedience, or love, or right action, or goodness blossoms in ways we never expected.
We turn off our TV and just start to share our lives with others, and neighborhoods begin to change.
A team gives two hours of time on a Saturday morning, and 43 starving children get fed for a year.
We give Him the little pile of dust we are, and He gives us back the most astounding Joy and peace and fruit.
We Love a person fully – and instead of being emptied by the process, we become more full than we ever thought possible.
We give up any hope in ourselves, and we suddenly become certain of the future.
And on and on and on and on it goes…..
Can this writer let you in on a little secret? The math is real! All of these statements about the Kingdom and pearls of great price and joy unspeakable are totally real. There is a price of entry though.
However, if you care for an E-ticket adventure for a life. i highly recommend a decision like the one He gave me the grace to make. There has not been one moment’s doubt after this day. i became convinced that G_d is really big! Really strong! Really Loving! And that He cared about my problems even more than i did (He does).
And in giving up on doubt, in paying the pittance of giving my weak self to Him, i am seeing an enormous return in my life. Yeah, the circumstances are cool, but the biggest deal? Peace… Joy… And the actual beginnings of real and practical righteousness in my existence. I have asked that i may truly Love Him – and He is answering that prayer by showing me His Love that i might know how to Love Him back.
Anyone for little Absolute Surrender tonight?
Come friend. Tonight is your night. He is calling you.
The kingdom of God does not exist because of your effort or mine. It exists because God reigns. Our part is to enter this kingdom and bring our life under his sovereign will.
