Kingdom of God Evidence

In 1955, the Mousekeeters (perhaps the first disciples of Disneyland) came on TV. Millions have gone to Disneyland/Disney world since then. These places (include Dollywood and your favorite amusement park in your home state) are vacations from all the challenges we face in the inner cities…or from stressful lives lived out in the country…or in suburbia — — reminders of humanity’s longing for a paradise. They are nor trying to be religious; they are not trying to awaken an allusion to the “Kingdom of God”. But they can, nonetheless, initiate a serious contemplation of what Jesus creates and what it is to be a Christian, to be a disciple of Christ.

The Garden of Eden is definitely a factor in imagining heaven after death. But that story was a response to the loss of David’s kingdom…sin brought down the reign of loyalty to the Mosaic Yahweh. It is David’s kingdom — -more than the Garden of Eden — -that points towards what heaven is like and where it begins: in life. It is FLESHLY (resurrection for us) one of the marks of the covenant; thus, Jesus’ telling Thomas to put his hand into his side was not simply the ending of doubt; it was the sign of re-establishing the covenant. FLESH. Incarnation. Manna/Eucharist. Crucifixion. And way in the distant past…Abraham’s desire to walk through the torn steer. (But El Shaddai grabbed the torch and reveals he will save us by walking through the torn flesh (Jesus).

There is the key to salvation…God saves us. We do not save ourselves (Martin Luther is correct). Our good deeds are signs of our gratefulness, not signs of our winning our salvation. Our keeping of the Ten Commandments does not replace the covenant of faith with Abraham; the Ten Commandments directs that faith. But it is God who saves. You can argue all you want over whether Jesus is our savior, but you can’t argue over your need to be saved…you are going to die.

Christ has allowed the record of humanity to go on…we die. But he will not allow it to be the final word. There is the truth, but truth will not prevent love. For Jesus…that we are creatures of God the Father far surpasses that we are sinners who by righteousness should be doomed. Think of that. Repeat it. Be moved to tears about; let it drop you to your knees. And the effects of our sins? Taken up — -invisibly before our eyes (as we see only the suffocation and bleeding )— -upon the cross. No matter how terrible the “dance of death” of crucifixion, it fades before what Jesus does at the cross that we can not see…but he sees…our sins. Our sins. They prostrate every human before the creator God. We may want to lift this burden by our good deeds. We fail. Boast not of your goodness. Christ is the savior of the world. That is the Good News. I, the saint, the miracle worker, the prophet, the priest, am not the Good News.

Alas, is it only a wonderful story? Perhaps we should sink back into our demand for God to be a genie. We all do it. A god is all-powerful and we do HIS Will. A genie is all-powerful and does OURwill. Many a Christian mistakenly and many an atheist sincerely want a genie. But Christianity is neither correct knowledge (Scripture) nor conviction. The devil has more correct knowledge than any pope, saint, theologian, Billy Graham. And the devil has never doubted.

But the devil will not serve.

Faith is servant of the Lord and knowledge and conviction wrapped in it makes for the faith that moves mountains. But faith without service is nothing…nothing…no matter the lack of doubts or the knowledge known.

As a Bible teacher of 40 years, I never stood against the Church nor the doing of good deeds, but I preached Christ and Christ alone.