On Earth as it is in Heaven

S - “The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” John 17:22-24 NASB

O - Jesus is speaking to his Father in the words recorded above.  The timing of their expression is near the end of this exchange and the beginning of his suffering.  His desires, the requests on his heart, can be summarized in single words he used.  Glory, One, Unity, Loved.  All of these are set in the context of relationships.  Relationships with the Father, with the followers and with the world. The result of these realities in the ongoing context of relationship on earth is a universal understanding that Jesus was sent by God in unconditional love; and all those who follow him are to live in unconditional love. The result in the Kingdom will be the "seeing" which follows the believing; no separation of any kind; unbroken togetherness.  Here and here after, the Kingdom of God is relationships!   

A - God's Kingdom is relationships.  Relationships are not the byproduct of his Kingdom, they are the Kingdom.  Regardless of one's theological moorings, surrender relationships and the kingdom is missed (cf. Matthew 25).  The glory of Jesus is not found in the miracles he did but in the intimacy of his relationship with his Father.  Earth wants the focus to be on informational accuracy or miraculous occurrences.  Heaven's focus is relational integrity … One, Unity, Loved, Glory!   “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."” John 13:34-35 NASB

P - Lord Jesus,

I accept the nature and substance of your Kingdom … and say yes to following you and relational integrity over all other factors. I want to live as an answer to your prayer rather than a cause of it.  I will love you back and love my neighbors (7.4 billion) … I will love as you love me unto life in your kingdom here and hereafter.

Steve

The Ultimate Material Witness

S - "I tell you for certain we know what we are talking about because we have seen it ourselves. But none of you will accept what we say. If you don't believe when I talk to you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I talk to you about heavenly things? John 3 [TS]

O -  Jesus is the completely credible material witness of heaven and of earth. There's no conjecture, educated guesses or secondhand information. Nothing hearsay and no theories.  He's communicating direct firsthand realities. His teaching and living are fully integrated with his experiences of both locales. He himself is the message, the good news, the universal given and sent to the entire world (all 7.4 billion). For God so loved the world he gave Jesus to all.

A -  The question for me is will I believe Jesus about heaven AND earth? Will my living and loving be confidently integrated with his witness? My conclusion is that if I'm not engaging his instruction about earth I'm kidding myself to think I'm actually believing him about heaven.  He is reported to be completely reliable in every way and on every topic. The point for me and for all who believe, who have confidence in him, is to live his witness out loud not just say it out loud.

P -  God of heaven and earth,

Thank you sending Jesus to clarify your person and purposes; for giving him to the entire world and not just the religious world. I admit that I find him to be completely reliable about earth. I will embrace, by my living, his instruction. Whenever differing ideas or opinions arise, I'll choose his every time. I welcome the ongoing transformation of my thinking and living according to him and your kingdom which is so very near.

Amazed,

Steve