Now What? part 2
It's a question that I used to ask myself a lot. Because I've never been afraid to try to do things. A lot of the time it doesn't work out the way I think it will (or the way I think it should), but I comfort myself by being able to say, "At least I tried." And then I usually say, "Ok... now what?" And the answer to that question is many times (perhaps every time) predicated on what came before. If you try something and it doesn't work you can either try again or try something new. Right? It depends on what happened before. So, in the context of Spiritual things let's look at John 12:31. In which Jesus say, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." Get it? The judgment happened over 2,000 years ago. And, as I've stated many times, God's judgment was NOT to kill His Son. That was what man was doing. God's judgment was to raise His Son from the dead. And us with Him. Because we were IN Him. When Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross, He drew all men into Himself. Out of Adam and into Christ. From that point on we were conformed to the image of God's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. See, in the beginning we were created in the image of God. But we didn't know what we looked like, because we didn't know what HE looked like. That is what was so important about Jesus telling Phillip, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." Jesus came to show us what God looks like. What WE look like. That's why He--God, who is love--wrapped Himself in human flesh. He wanted us to see God (love) in the man Jesus so that we could understand what it means for God (love) to be in us. That was God's judgment--not a death sentence but an abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life sentence. Which is to say, now that the judgment of this world has come... we can live. Now that the prince of this world has been cast out... we can rule and reign as kings and priests! Look at Revelation 5:10, "And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." We shall reign on this earth. Because He HAS made us kings and priests. Past and present tense. Not something that needs to happen, but something that has happened. Again, 2000 years ago. Now we can live. Now we are kings and priests. Now we can rule and reign. And, listen, that doesn't mean imposing our will on others. It means letting love rule and reign. Because love is not just what we do. Love is who we are. Love is our true identity and our true nature. Love is what makes life worth living. And love is what makes it possible to truly live. Because to live IS to love, and to love is to live. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. So the question, "Now what?" has a very simple answer. The work is finished. Now we can rest. Not through inactivity, but through Holy Spirit directed activity. And I'm here to tell you that the Holy Spirit only directs you to ever do one thing: Love. Now what? What do I do now? Well... now you do what you CAN do. What you've been equipped and empowered to do. Now what? Now love!