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)
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
~ paul, The Least of The Apostles, in Colossians 1
Oh beloved, it is true.
There is indeed, power to the strong. The issue, though, is that we often have no clue what real power really is. But, hopefully we can see that all kingdoms, regardless of their founder – are founded on blood.
Across the millennia of our histories, nation has risen against nation. Often, this has caused the coalition and coagulation of States into greater bodies. And without exception, any coalition has never really held together without the coagulation of the blood of young men (you can see the word ‘infant’ in infantry, no?).
Often, even greater empires have been founded upon a cult of personality. Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, Napoleon, Alexander The Great, Adolph Hitler, Muhammad, Julius Caesar – to name a few – forged incredible kingdoms upon the anvil of young soldiers (and innocent victims) bloody flesh.
Even greater, some coalitions have been founded on nothing but a dream. This fool of a writer was born in the United States. My youth was in the twilight of the grand age of that Great Experiment in Liberty. And even though She is burdened under the strain of her divisions, she has survived well into her third century. But, even this dream has been paid for with the blood on 100s of thousands of men and women who have given their ultimate payment towards this nation’s account.
Others have touched the edge of where I am trying to go with this entry. Ghandi, Mandela, The Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King Jr., and persons like them have entered upon the perimeter of the truth. They have given themselves fully to something, without demanding the blood of others to gain entry to their dreams.
But… it goes deeper for sure.
Can we see it?
Jesus, now King of The Universe (and my Very Best Friend), founded a completely other Way. Oh yes, He paved The Way into His Kingdom with blood. But, instead of demanding that others pour out their blood to accommodate His ideas, His Dream, His Way – He poured out His own.
Don’t miss this. G_d, the very Maker of existence, submitted to His own Justice, and the very wrath of His own creation to found a Kingdom which will have no end. There is no mistake in this. It is really only that every single one of us has fallen short of comprehending the truth as we try to build our Kingdoms.
Using the blood of others is cheap. It is too easy. It has very little lasting return.
But, The Seed Who fell into the ground and died? Therein is exceedingly much fruit.
So, are you struggling with control in your life? Are you thinking that using others to get what you want is the answer? Tonight is your night beloved. Time to think a completely different way. Only in giving our lives away too, will we find entrance into the Kingdom which already has no end.
Time to die. Oh, fear not, you will live in a whole New Way.
Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but upon what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ alone founded his empire upon love, and at this hour millions of men would die for him.
~Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
