The Holiday Season has begun, yet this time of joy and good cheer is often overshadowed by a heaviness that many just can't shake. Maybe you can't put your finger on it; there just seems to be an innate awareness of encroaching darkness underneath the outward display of festive merriment. But, as a Christian, if we can truly understand and embrace the truth of our faith, then we would know that we have been delivered into a new and different realm of reality than this broken world. Maybe we need to re-examine exactly what our faith rests on, and be willing to come to a new and greater knowledge of God's Truth ...
The Fundamentals
Let's examine the facts of our faith: To begin, if we truly identify as a Christian, we have been greatly blessed that the Son of God [and the Son of Man] walked in the midst of this sinful world and was willing to take upon Himself the sins of the entire world [across all span of time] and suffer the wrath of God [on that cruel and humiliating cross] in order to appease the righteous anger of God towards each one of us.
Do you fully understand that through Jesus's substitutionary death, we have received His righteousness before God? That, when God, our Father, looks upon us, He sees His Son? Think about that for a moment ... Instinctively, we know we don't deserve that Grace. Yet, if we are true followers of Christ, we will repent for our sins, begin to live a new life in Him, where there is no condemnation from Heaven, and we can enjoy peace and reconciliation with Almighty God. That is called Salvation.
And Jesus completed that part of His mission when He came to earth. He died for you and me, and three days later He walked out of the burial tomb the risen Son of God; the living, conqueror of Death, and our triumphant Savior! Salvation is now available to whomever calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a free gift and it is incumbent upon you, [it is necessary that you], either receive it or reject it. Simply put, it is a choice between Heaven and Hell; a choice between suffering in eternal agony, or rejoicing in eternal blessedness.
I know the carnal world doesn't like to hear that they are limited to those two choices. And, yes, there are even some professing Christians that want to keep a foot in both camps. To them, Salvation becomes a burden and a self-gratifying form of faith that disrespects what it cost our Lord to give us that choice. But what profoundly saddens me is that too many cannot see that there was more to Jesus's mission than Salvation.
He not only gave us an opportunity to choose Him as our way to reconciliation with our Father in Heaven, but as the way to enter our Father's Kingdom, which He brought with Him when He came from Heaven to earth. That's a fundamental truth that must not be ignored ... without Salvation, there is no access to the Kingdom. Salvation is the first and necessary step to entering the Kingdom [see John 3:1-5] -- there is no other way. And we need to enter the Kingdom to carry on Jesus's work. So, if you're feeling burdened by the world, perhaps you need to re-examine your understanding of Jesus's message about the Kingdom and what it means for you.
Why the Kingdom of God is the Answer
For some time now, I have discerned [and lamented] that kingdom is the latest buzz word among Christian ministries. It seems that every few years a new word or phrase is picked up by the Christian network and used as a motivating force to launch new evangelical strategies. In itself, that's not a bad thing, but I just wonder how many truly understand the importance and weight of the Kingdom of God.
When we discuss or promote the idea of the Kingdom, do we rightly represent it as belonging to God who reigns and rules over it? Or have we begun to claim ownership of the "kingdom" through our own "kingdom work" and lifestyles, ministries, and belief systems? To be honest, I became a little concerned when I began to see a proliferation of "kingdom businesses" and "kingdom universities" being promoted. And believe me, I am constantly re-examining myself and my motives! Am I self-serving, or serving God when I talk, or teach, about the Kingdom?
When the Spirit first opened my spiritual eyes to the truth and importance of Jesus's message about the Kingdom, I became conscious of making sure I was pointing to God and His reign, as well as His purpose to break into this sinful and broken world through His Son. I didn't want it to be about me and my efforts. True, we are His representatives, but how we represent and share His Kingdom matters. There is so much more beyond His gift of Salvation, as glorious and transforming as that is! But it is significantly important that we understand [and share] that we are not just saved from death and sin, but saved into a new realm of life [called the Kingdom], which results in a new identity, a new purpose, and a new destiny.
God called His creation of everything on earth "Good". But His Kingdom represents the glory of His sovereign rule over every aspect of our lives. It involves so much more than asking Him into your heart; it is His spiritual reign in our lives, whereby He sits on the throne of our hearts, and we submit to His authoritative and loving rule. By our example, we are to invite the rest of the world to become part of His Kingdom of Light, dispelling the darkness that leads to the burden some of us feel today.
I love this quote by author Jeremy Treat: "The Bible is the story of God making His good creation a glorious Kingdom ... The Bible is a rescue story, not about God rescuing sinners from a broken creation, but about Him rescuing them for a new creation ... The message of the Kingdom is not an escape from Earth to Heaven, but God's reign coming from Heaven to Earth". Now, contemplate the weight of Scripture's truth when it says thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven". The Kingdom message is about the scope and purpose of God's reign over the earth, making it like Heaven.
Jesus came to bring a way for the men on earth to become a part of God's reign [and His new creation] on the earth through the Kingdom Jesus brought with Him. And the only way to enter that Kingdom was by receiving Salvation through faith in Jesus. By partnering with Jesus, we have a new life, separating ourselves from our sinful attachment to the old created world, in exchange for entrance into a new spiritual realm called the Kingdom of God. Today, this Kingdom has come in part as a spiritual reality for the truly Saved. We no longer claim citizenship in this world, but are renewed by our lives in the Kingdom and the promise of the fulfillment of the Kingdom when Jesus returns. That glorious fulfillment is a future event and the culmination of God's redemptive plan since man's fall in the Garden.
So, if, as a redeemed Christian, you are feeling burdened by being in this fallen and sinful world, perhaps you should take a closer look at where you've positioned yourself. Which realm are you taking up your residence? Do you see yourself in the world ... or transferred into the Kingdom realm? Whose reign are you submitting yourself to -- the authority of the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) ... or the realm where Jesus reigns as King of the world, and God's authority is sovereign and supreme? Are you allowing yourself to be burdened by the chains with which this world will weigh you down, ... or looking forward to your inheritance and rewards when Heaven comes to earth in the fullness of Jesus Christ, and we take our places at the feast in the Millennial Kingdom?
In summation, we need not look at our present circumstances through our carnal eyes, but look with joy, patience, and expectation towards our future reality in God's fulfilled Kingdom on earth. Remember, at the moment of our Salvation, we were delivered from Satan's domain of darkness and transferred into the different and separate realm of the Kingdom of God. Stay focused on our future inheritance. It only gets better from here!
2 Peter 1:10-11 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment