Back to Front part 5
The Kingdom economy may be upside down and backwards. The first may be last, and the last first. You may have to lose your life to save it. It may not make sense to the carnal mind--and it's certainly not supposed to. But one thing that IS clear about the Kingdom economy is the currency used. The Kingdom currency... is love. But here's the backwards part: We don't "buy" with it. We give it away. I want to look at Revelation 3:17-18, but it takes a little bit of explaining. "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Ok. First things first. We ARE rich and we DO have need of nothing. We have it all because we have Jesus. But that's not what Jesus was talking about here. He was talking about a preoccupation with natural riches. That's why He said they should buy these things. The things of the Spirit can't be bought with gold or silver. In fact, when beggar came to Peter expecting something, "...Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3:6). Really, you can't buy what you need. Because what you need was given as a gift. And if you can buy it, it's not a gift. Now look at what Jesus was telling them to "buy." He didn't even tell them to USE gold, He told them to BUY gold. And guess what: WE are the gold that goes through the fire and is purified. He told them to buy white raiment, when in fact HE clothed us with Lamb skin way back in the garden of Eden. HE gives us HIS white raiment. Revelation 3:5, "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment..." HE anointed our eyes so that we could see. In the Kingdom it's not about getting. It's not about buying and selling. That's the way of the world. That's why those we are lukewarm--which is who Jesus was addressing in Revelation chapter 3--are still in that realm of give and take. In the Kingdom we don't give in order to get. We give because we have. We love Him, because He first loved us. We love Him, by loving one another. Love doesn't HAVE a motive, love IS the motive. Love is giving. Love is NOT buying. Love is NOT getting. We have already been blessed with all Spiritual blessings, and we have already been GIVEN all things that pertain to life and godliness. Everything Jesus told those lukewarm people to "buy" He had already freely given to those that overcome. To those that believe. I said the Kingdom economy is love. And it is. But maybe more accuractely the Kingdom economy is faith, hope, and love. And, of course, the greatest of these is love. The best thing we can do is love. But, in a sense, our love flows from our faith and our hope. Our love is a manifestation of what we believe, and what the Word says is true!