"How many progressive or evangelical Christians sound like [Jesus when he says, My kingdom is not of this world]?"
Maybe more than you think. They don't sound off very loudly so they're not very interesting to the newsfeeds and are ignored. They are found where there's a certain phlegmatic resignation that we have to largely "take life as it comes". They might be politically left or right, but they understand that God is always at work and they want to place themselves in service to Him and thus become "the salt of the earth"; the quiet, sturdy folk who get things done whilst the politicians posture.
Hasn’t the power & presence of His Holy Spirit given us power? Sure He rejected the kingdom’s of this world power & their ways of coercion & still the power & presence of Him & His Holy Spirit in mine & our lives has overturned the grip the enemy has on our lives.
Jesus came to introduce a completely different kingdom, an upside down kingdom, & with it came some expanded & different definitions of words the people of that time were familiar with.
We know that God’s jealousy is nothing like human jealousy so I propose that His warfare is nothing like the worlds ideas of warfare. Maybe there’s more divine mystery left if He doesn’t make new words & new concepts? Maybe there’s more to our choice to see the world through His lens of how He sees the concepts of war, kingdom, jealousy & the like?
It takes immense intentionality, by us as followers of Christ, to not go to war with one another but with our true enemy. His Majesty’s castle is in our hearts. His Kingdom, or a glimpse of His Kingdom, is our lives & the lives He makes better through us. When one life is changed, when we can leave the 99 to find the 1, when we can harm less & help more, His Kingdom, or at least a glimpse, has come & His will has been done.
I think we have great difficulty truly understanding how entrenched the Jewish expectation of a military, political powerful messiah was. And as I read through the Old Testament last year, it’s easy to see why this might have been. The prophets used a LOT of military and violent rhetoric when writing about the coming messiah. So much so that, honestly, it kind of trips me up as well.
I do wonder why this was, as well as wonder why Jesus was not more explicit, at least to his closest disciples, about what the truth of this was. Why did the prophets prophesy (seemingly) a political savior and why didn’t Jesus set that straight from the get-go? I can’t say that I know.
"How many progressive or evangelical Christians sound like [Jesus when he says, My kingdom is not of this world]?"
Maybe more than you think. They don't sound off very loudly so they're not very interesting to the newsfeeds and are ignored. They are found where there's a certain phlegmatic resignation that we have to largely "take life as it comes". They might be politically left or right, but they understand that God is always at work and they want to place themselves in service to Him and thus become "the salt of the earth"; the quiet, sturdy folk who get things done whilst the politicians posture.
Richard, your explanation is “spot-on.” And we are to follow in His footsteps. Thank you, Brother
Lee Hughes
This is amazing! I love the healthy tension this perspective creates. Can’t wait for Part 3.
Hasn’t the power & presence of His Holy Spirit given us power? Sure He rejected the kingdom’s of this world power & their ways of coercion & still the power & presence of Him & His Holy Spirit in mine & our lives has overturned the grip the enemy has on our lives.
Jesus came to introduce a completely different kingdom, an upside down kingdom, & with it came some expanded & different definitions of words the people of that time were familiar with.
We know that God’s jealousy is nothing like human jealousy so I propose that His warfare is nothing like the worlds ideas of warfare. Maybe there’s more divine mystery left if He doesn’t make new words & new concepts? Maybe there’s more to our choice to see the world through His lens of how He sees the concepts of war, kingdom, jealousy & the like?
It takes immense intentionality, by us as followers of Christ, to not go to war with one another but with our true enemy. His Majesty’s castle is in our hearts. His Kingdom, or a glimpse of His Kingdom, is our lives & the lives He makes better through us. When one life is changed, when we can leave the 99 to find the 1, when we can harm less & help more, His Kingdom, or at least a glimpse, has come & His will has been done.
I think we have great difficulty truly understanding how entrenched the Jewish expectation of a military, political powerful messiah was. And as I read through the Old Testament last year, it’s easy to see why this might have been. The prophets used a LOT of military and violent rhetoric when writing about the coming messiah. So much so that, honestly, it kind of trips me up as well.
I do wonder why this was, as well as wonder why Jesus was not more explicit, at least to his closest disciples, about what the truth of this was. Why did the prophets prophesy (seemingly) a political savior and why didn’t Jesus set that straight from the get-go? I can’t say that I know.
His ways are higher than my ways.