As his child, you are entitled to his kingdom, the warmth, the peace, and the power of his presence, the wisdom, the insight, and the guidance of his Spirit, the goodness, the joy, and every supreme expression of his love.
~Billy Graham (1918- )
Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
~ from Luke 17
Oh beloved, it is true. We have been saved to the uttermost. There is now within us – and covering us as a breastplate – the very righteousness of G_d. We now have peace, a profound exchange-of-life agreement, with Him. And from both of these things come the most astoundingly real joy. And while this joy is inexpressible in words, it is the real strength manifesting from within a believer on his epic journey Home.
And even so, there are times when individually – and especially corporately – that we do not believe. The waves of the world attempt to crush in on us. And we look at them.
Disease
War
Pestilence
Famine
Perversion
The glorification of doubt
The renunciation of the holy
The vomit and defecation of the world.
The waves seem so real, and they compete for our attention. Like the lusts of our own flesh, and the desires they want to invoke, the problem is not really some sort of stupid resultant behavior (though this is bad enough). No, the problem is that the problems within our flesh, and around us in the world work to make us look away from the One Thing that could make them go away.
Him, and His Kingdom.
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Romans 14
But there is still a problem. Something within us knows the Solution. And in knowing the reality of the fix, we wince and shrink away. For just as the First Seed fell into the ground and died, that His Life, given away, might bear much fruit – so we must also die. And if we choose not to die, we will merely abide alone in His Kingdom, watching the assaults being launched upon it.
Oh, but to die.
To die. That is a different story. For as our Brother gave His blood for us, the Kingdom of the redeemed was born. And as those saints who learn the secret, and give themselves away as living sacrifices (and sometimes supreme sacrifices), we become the seeds which spring forth and bear much fruit. And within each fruit borne, are more seeds able to die and multiply again. Frightening? Yes. But only on the side of the death which hears all the voices of the world screaming for attention.
Can we see it? The problems of the world are not the problem. The problems of the world only exist to pull our attention away from Jesus. And this is true because the evil one knows that his only chance at slowing the advance of the Kingdom, is to slow the multiplication of fruit in believers. He can’t stop it. Not possible. But, if the liar can keep us frightened and fighting against all sorts of shadowy distractions, he can keep us from going through the final, and crucial battle each believer faces.
And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
~ from Matthew 14
Are you distracted? Are you looking at the waves of the world? This is not only unnecessary, it is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing. Anything other than looking to Jesus, and utterly away from ourselves (and anything else), is the only answer. However, upon looking to the Solution (read Jesus alone), we find the limitless ability within the circles of our families and friends and colleagues and cities and countries and the world – to live and move in the strength of His Love and Life.
Fear not beloved. Don’t be afraid of the death He has for you. And upon going through this one passage, you will find that the fear of anything else is simply irrelevant to the path towards the Kingdom He will set before you. We are almost Home. Die, that many may join you on the journey to that Place.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in Matthew 6
