The deeper we grow in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the poorer we become – the more we realize that everything in life is a gift. The tenor of our lives becomes one of humble and joyful thanksgiving. Awareness of our poverty and ineptitude causes us to rejoice in the gift of being called out of darkness into wondrous light and translated into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son.
~Brennan Manning
Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Romans 14
Oh beloved, it is true.
Each of us; those adopted into His family, have truly become more that we yet know. We are the ones who will inherit and reign in the Kingdom of G_d. And this is not a small thing. Actually, any reward, in comparison to this, is small. We could become masters of this universe, and it would pale in comparison to what we are going to inherit.
This is one of the problems with our christianity. Oh, it is not that it is not true. It is not that it does not give us the answers to a great number of things in this life. All of it is true. It is just that the truth of this aspect of our faith is so small as to be infinitesimal.
When we begin to understand just who we are… Everything begins to change within us.
Our failures disgust us.
Our King enthralls us.
Our joy sustains us.
Our righteousness flows from Him.
Our happiness is ongoing.
Our Love is real.
Our Hope is blessed.
Our view becomes eternal.
And all of this is because we have come to understand who we are becoming.
The Greek in the title of this entry is: “ἐν κηρύγματι,” or “in kerygmati.” It simply means: “In preaching.” And the idea is Scripture is that we can (and surely should) live lives that proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. The kerygmata of the New Testament is not the numerous pieces of good information and wisdom that we can gain from His Word. Rather, it is the core of the message. It is the message that Christ Himself spoke of 106 times in the Gospels.
The Kingdom, and the path into it.
Can we see it?
Members of a family act differently than outsiders to a family. There is an ease and intimacy with the issues within a family. We no longer have to keep talking about what the family rules are. We no longer have to keep talking about how others are not acting like family members. We simply begin living them out.
We begin to just do the right thing (righteousness).
We begin to promote deep agreement on central truths (peace).
We begin to walk in a diamond-hard strength, born of living in His Presence (joy).
And all of this is empowered by The Spirit of our G_d, now indwelling us, and we Him.
So, are you trying to share your faith? Good. Do that. However, have you ever considered that you could also simply begin to share who you are? You are a prince (or princess) in a Kingdom which will have no end. There is no need to convince, or argue – there is only now a desire to proclaim.
Tonight is your night beloved. Time to understand that you are royalty, and your life is a message.
I am much struck with the contrast between Christ’s mode of gathering people to himself and the way practiced by Alexander the Great, by Julius Caesar, and by myself. The people have been gathered to us by fear; they were gathered to Christ by love. Alexander, Caesar, and I have been men of war, but Christ was the Prince of Peace. The people have been driven to us; they were drawn to him. In our case there has been forced conscription; in his there was free obedience.
~Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
