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When the Son of God descended to experience the human condition as the Son of Man; in weakness made powerful by faith-submission to the will of Our Father, he directly confronted the Arch Deceiver. Our entire universe of principalities and powers, clearly and forever recognized the justice of doing, in the role of mortal flesh, those things which mercy admonished him not to do by the power of arbitrary authority. Even those fomenting spiritual wickedness in high places and the rulers of the darkness in this world saw the fairness, and were thus challenged in ways they did not anticipate.
The decision Jesus made, to live a life wholeheartedly motivated to do the will of Our Father, thus to reveal God, is our inspiration. Jesus is quoted as saying: “Why do you call me good? There is none good but God.” Contrast this humility to the brash demeanor of excessively prominent personalities. Self-confidence, self-reliance and self-sufficiency may be the bread of this world, but the faith-son does not vest ultimate faith in anyone but God.
The apostasy of the apostle who denied Jesus may have been less severe than that of the apostle who betrayed Jesus, but each of these single points of failure was a potential known to, and foretold by, Our Sovereign. The command “Go tell the apostles and Peter” inspired the forgiven apostle to become instrumental in delivering over two thousand souls to the service of the Kingdom during his highly enthusiastic Pentecost sermon.
The gospel that Jesus taught redeemed us from the superstition that we are children of the devil. Jesus gave us dignity as faith sons and daughters of God. As the Spirit of Truth came to dwell in our hearts, we became liberated from all dependence on ecclesiastical authority and pharisitic tradition. As we walk by the direct tutelage of the Spirit we too may get periodic humility lessons similar to Peter’s “Get behind me Satan” moment. For ultimately, there is none true but God, there is none beautiful but God and there is none good but God.
The supreme sovereignty of Christ Jesus comes from God, and that is why we call him Lord. As he dwelt among us, in the role of a teacher, he gave immediate attention to the liberation and inspiration of our spiritual nature. He illuminated the darkened human intellect, healed the souls of humankind, and emancipated our minds from age-old fears. He ministered to us addressing both our physical well-being and our material comfort. He lived the ideal religious life for the inspiration and edification of all within his universe.
The Supreme Values of Truth, Beauty and Goodness, belong exclusively to God. We are as fishers of men stationed along a highly intricate network designed and maintained by Our Heavenly Father. As we become authenticated; as the potentials of intellectual theology give way to actual faith; and as we come into alignment with the things, meanings and values that are the design criteria for His Universe, we will discover the keys to knowing His will in every situation.
So the next time you log into what has become known as the Internet, think about the world that Lucifer fell to. The next time you’re clearing the spam out of your mailbox, think about the deceitful practices we’ve come to accept as routine politics. The next time your electronic system freezes, think about how the tail of the dragon swept down a third of the stars from Heaven before he was bound and loosed again. And, the next time you endure a denial of service attack, get your browser hijacked or respond to an email that may or may not be from the person or institution listed as the sender, think about the value of a trusted source.
While the avowed atheist will seek some form of subjective gratification by confiding in postulates or getting in touch with his inner cookie, we can enjoy true objective satisfaction knowing the Kingdom of Heaven, our living, loving Heavenly Father is within us. We strike step with Eternity by looking to the One through Worship.
Jesus did not command us to fall into and out of some ethereal love when we feel like it. He instead commanded us to love one another as he loves us. It is our faith that informs our response to Divine leading as well as our grasp of universal values. When these become truly meaningful to us, we too can produce seed bearing fruit. The love, devotion, loyalty, fairness, honesty, hope, trust, mercy, goodness, forgiveness, tolerance and peace loving ways of the truly faithful combine in a spiritual fragrance that will unfailingly attract kindred souls. When we can thus enjoy spiritual unity without insisting upon theological uniformity, the fears and the defensiveness quickly dissolve. These are among the qualities we must develop, as individuals, if we are to advance along Eternity Road.