A Kingdom of Humility.

The worst thing to ever happen to “the Faith,” as the earliest Followers of Jesus called their worship and their walk {Acts 6:7; 13:8; 14:22; 16:5}, was when it became the ‘official religion’ of the Roman Empire… sanctioned by the sword and all that this implies. As one writer put it: when “Constantine claimed to convert to Christianity in the early 4th century the Christian faith had gone from being an unknown religion to a misunderstood religion, to a persecuted religion, to a tolerated religion, to a favored religion, to the official religion of the Roman Empire.”

So, you see what’s happening here? It’s a stroke of genius by the enemy, a masterful countermove. Can’t conquer it by persecution, can’t destroy it from within by falsehood and Gnostic fables? Give it green-light status in the Empire’s arena and seduce it with wealth and luxury, prestige and power. Ingenious, if you think about it. We moved from faith in the power of the Cross to faith in the power of the sword. And we’re still trusting in the sword {in military might} ...while the Word sits waiting. I mean, why concern yourself with the Resurrection when you’ve already ascended the imperial throne?

It’s a heady thing to finally have real, raw power in your hands, as any teenage boy with a Trans-Am will tell you. The lust for power and prestige in the eyes of the world, like the lust for money, is a dangerous deception— one deadly to the Kingdom Christ told Pilate was “not of this world” and which He instructed His Disciples did not operate like the kingdoms of this world.

In this Kingdom the only authority which counts is that exercised by the King, which supersedes all others. In this Kingdom, the only power that matters is the power of love: love for Abba with everything we are, love for others because of how He loves us, and love for our enemies because our Father is more merciful than we can ever imagine {Lk. 6:27-36}. And in a world overflowing with petty conflicts, quarrels, hatreds and grievances, He is infinitely forgiving. In this Kingdom, the only example to follow is the Master’s Way of Humility. In His Kingdom, illustrated by a Life revelatory of Abba’s love, the last are first, the servants are the leaders, those who sacrifice in the Cause— time, money, attention, affection, respect, compassion, mercy, tenderness— may lose some things in Time but will gain all things in Eternity.

“‘I tell you the Truth,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the Kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this Age and, in the Age to Come, Eternal Life’” {Lk. 18:29-30}. “Then He called the crowd to Him along with His Disciples and said: ‘If anyone would come after Me [This is what a disciple, an apprentice to a master, does. He ‘comes after’ the master he’s chosen; he follows in his footsteps.], he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me and for the Gospel will save it’” {Mk. 8:34-35}.

Ric Webb, Shepherd
Heart's Journey Community
hjcommunity.org