America is great not because our people live far better than any other population in history. We are great not because we have more things than ever. We are great not because we have submarines, aircraft carriers and missiles. America is great because it is an idea. More than 50 states, more than a geographic location, America is a never before held idea that “we the people” can govern ourselves. “We the people” grant to others the same freedoms we ourselves desire. To miss that this was earth-shakingly unique is to not understand the history of mankind.
In Luke 17:21 Jesus said, “Behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” The establishment in Jesus’ day continued to look for a physical kingdom that would result in Jerusalem being the capitol of the world with Rome paying them tribute. They missed the idea that the kingdom of God was an idea. When Jesus prayed “thy kingdom come, thy will be done” He was speaking of our becoming one with Him and the Father and experiencing peace, forgiveness, grace and rest from works of the law. Salvation did not depend on diet, tithing or adherence to Leviticus. Salvation is a gift that brings the kingdom of God into the present and not sometime in the future.
Just as America is an idea so is the kingdom of God. This is not to deny the reality of heaven or the second coming. Instead it is to recognize that heaven begins now. Anxiety and stress about one’s salvation should be put to rest. Going to heaven will be but a change of address with our physical issues remedied as this corruption puts on incorruption.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 1, 2017
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