~ Introduction ~
“[Jesus] and his early associates overwhelmed the
ancient world because they brought into it a stream of life at its deepest,
along with the best information possible on the most important matters. These
were matters with which the human mind had already been seriously struggling
for a millennium or more without much success. The early message was,
accordingly, not experienced as something its hearers had to believe or do because otherwise something bad—something with
no essential connection with real life—would happen to them. The people
initially impacted by that message generally concluded that they would be fools
to disregard it.” [pp. 1-2]
“[The] most telling thing about the contemporary
Christian is that he or she simply has no compelling sense that understanding
of and conformity with the clear teachings of Christ is of any vital importance
to his or her life, and certainly not that it is in any way essential… [The] practical irrelevance of actual
obedience to Christ accounts for the weakened effect of Christianity in the
world today, with its increasing tendency to emphasize political and social
action as the primary way to serve God. It also accounts for the practical
irrelevance of Christian faith to individual character development and overall
personal sanity and well-being.” [2-3]
~ Chapter One ~
Entering
the Eternal Kind of Life Now
“If [Jesus] were to come today as he did then, he
could carry out his mission through most any decent and useful occupation. He
could be a clerk or accountant in a hardware store, a computer repairman, a
banker, an editor, doctor, waiter, teacher, farmhand, lab technician, or
construction worker. He could run a house-cleaning service or repair
automobiles. In other words, if he were to come today he could very well do what
you do. He could very well live your apartment or house, hold down your job,
have your education and life prospects, and live within your family,
surroundings, and time. None of this would be the least hindrance to the
eternal kind of life that was his by nature and [which] becomes available to us
through him.” [20-21]
“C.C. Lewis writes, our faith is not a matter of our
hearing what Christ said long ago and ‘trying to carry it out.’ Rather, ‘The
real Son of God is at your side. He is beginning to turn you into the same kind
of thing as Himself. He is beginning, so to speak, to ‘inject’ His kind of life
and thought, His Zoe [life], into
you; beginning to turn the tin soldier into a live man. The part of you that
does not like it is the part that is still tin.’” [28]
“Jesus came among us to show and teach the life for
which we were made. He cam very gently, opened access to the governance [or
kingdom] of God with him, and set afoot a conspiracy of freedom in truth among
human beings. Having overcome death he remains among us. By relying on his word
and presence we are enabled to reintegrate the little realm that makes up our
life into the infinite rule of God. And that is the eternal kind of life.
Caught up in his active rule, our deeds become an element in God’s eternal
history. They are what God and we do together, making us part of his life and
hum a part of ours.” [35]
“‘Ultimate reality’—to speak grandly—permits itself to
be addressed and dealt with through the Son of man, Jesus. Indeed, by taking
the title Son of man, he staked his claim to be all that the human being was
originally supposed to be—and surely much more. Colloquially we might describe
him as humanity’s ‘fair-haired boy,’ the one who expresses its deepest nature
and on whom its hopes rest. Older theologian soberly referred to him as ‘the
representative man’ or the ‘federal head’ of humanity.” [35]
“New Testament passages make plain that [God’s]
kingdom is not something to be ‘accepted’ now and enjoyed later, but something
to be entered now (Matt. 5:20; 18:3;
John 3:3,5). It is something that already has flesh-and-blood citizens (John
18:36; Phil. 3:20) who have been transformed into it (Col. 1:13) and are fellow
workers in it (Col. 4:11). The apostle Paul on one occasion describes it simply
as ‘righteousness and peace and joy’ of a type that only occurs ‘through the
energizing of the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17). That it is not of, or not derived from, this world or ‘here’
does not mean it is not real or that it is not in this world (John 18:36). It is, as Jesus said, constantly in the
midst of human life (Luke 17:21; cf. Deut. 7:21). Indeed, it means that it is
more real and more present than any human arrangement could ever possibly be.”
[36]
“[O]ther ‘kingdoms’
are still present on earth along with the kingdom of the heavens. They too are ‘at
hand.’ That is the human condition. Persons other than God, such as you or I,
are still allowed on earth to have a ‘say’ that is contrary to his will. A
kingdom of darkness is here, certainly, and the kingdoms of many individuals
who are still ‘trying to run their own show.’ All of this God still permits.
And the lack of human unity in intelligent love under God not only leaves us at
the mercy of man-made disasters, such as wars, famine, and oppression, but also
prevents our dealing successfully with many so-called natural evils, such as
disease, scarcity, and weather-related disasters. So, along with the ‘already
here’ there obviously remains a ‘not yet’ aspect with regard to God’s present
rule on earth. The present situation of kingdoms in conflict is one eloquently
portrayed in the Twenty-third Psalm: ‘In the valley of the shadow of death I
will fear no evil.’ Yes, but the ‘evil’ is very much here to be feared. And: ‘Thou
prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.’ The ‘enemies’ are
certainly here, but we are safe in God’s hands even though other ‘kingdoms’
loom over us and threaten us.” [37-38]
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