Deeper and Wider part 3
There's so much available to us. Literally an entire kingdom. The Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Love. And that, to me, is the whole deal of the thing. When God wrapped Himself in human flesh... when the Word of God--which is Jesus, which is love--came to earth... everything changed. Like my mom always says, "Either the cross changed everything, or it didn't change anything." Point being, well, let me quote my verse first. "Jesus told her, "First I should feed the children--my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs." She replied, "That's true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children's plates."" (Mark 7:27-28 NLT). And, obviously, this is speaking of Jews and Gentiles. But the problem is that even now, after the cross, after one brach was cut off so another could be grafted on, after the Gospel was GIVEN to the Gentiles... we still have this poverty mentality. We're still scrambling for scraps, if I can say it that way. When, on the cross, Jesus prepared the table for ALL of us. When He was lifted up from the earth on the cross He drew ALL MEN unto himself. And it is in the eating of the this six course meal (The Six Steps to the Throne... Crucified, Died, Buried, Quickened, Raised, Seated) that we are satisfied. That we stop looking for love (because the bread and the wine, the Lamb and the living water IS love) in all the wrong places and begin to tap into the source. Because we are connected to the source. God (LOVE) lives in us and we live in Him. We don't have to settle for scraps from the children's table. And, for the record, if you keep reading in the book of Mark, you find that Jesus was satisifed with the woman's faith and did for her what she asked of Him. Because even a scrap of the good stuff beats engorging yourself on anything else. But, again, by point is its ALL available to us. We ARE the Son(s) of God. Seated with Him, and in Him, at the right hand of the Father. Because as He is, so are we in this world. What He did FOR us, He also did AS us. He IS the meal that He prepared for us. Eat His flesh and drink His blood, right? Fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with. BE transformed into what we've already been transformed into. By the renewing of our minds. By letting the mind of Christ that's already in us BE in us. By not settling. By... listen, I know the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." And I can understand the idea of doing the best you can with what you've got. But what you've got really doesn't have a whole lot to do with what "life," or the world, gives you. What you've got has everything to do with the Kingdom. Jesus came that we might have life, and that more abundantly. Love is what makes the abundant life abundant. And its not what we can have if we do this, this, and this. Its not what we can have if we try hard enough, and act "good" enough, and earn it. It is, in fact and in truth, what we already have. What we already ARE. Because we are IN the Kingdom, and we ARE the Kingdom. We are loved... and we can love. Which means we can live. Because to live IS to love and to love IS to live. We don't have to settle for scraps. We can enjoy the entire meal!