gospel of the kingdom
“This is how we know that we are in him: whoever claims to be in him must walk like Jesus.” – 1 John 2:5b-6
When Jesus Christ came to earth, He came to bring the gospel of the kingdom to mankind. For centuries, the church has emphasized only one part of the gospel. That part is the gospel of salvation. However, Jesus came so that we could have much more than salvation. He came to give us a brand new life, with signs, wonders and His Spirit living inside us and revealing Himself to us daily. He came so that we could walk on this earth just as He walked. If our lives are not reflecting the same things that Jesus did, we must ask why?
In my 24 years of walking with Christ I have observed three different types of workplace believers. First, many of us come to Christ in need of salvation. His call on our lives has touched our hearts. We reason and analyze the claims of Christ and make decisions for Him. This is a convenient time to accept Him in our lives. This first stage is often characterized by a “bless me, Lord” attitude toward God. This is the first stage which mainly brings liberation in our life. Some people never really move beyond this first stage.
The second stage is the crisis stage. A crisis comes into our lives, and we are moved to seek Christ with all our hearts. However, this motivation is not from pure love for Christ; Rather, it is driven by a desire to find a way out of the pain of life. The motivation is to resolve the “what” versus the “why” in my life at that time. This stage is best known as “Help me, Lord.”
In the third stage we begin to experience the gospel of the kingdom. This is the place where Jesus stayed while visiting with His Heavenly Father. This is a place of strong faith. The number of people living at this level is very small, but these people are experiencing a reality of walking with God that is different from everyone else. They are witnessing the daily occurrences of His involvement in their lives. They are motivated by deep love for him. They know him. The attitude of these people is characterized by these thoughts, “Lord, take hold of me; though He will kill me, yet will I trust in Him.”
where are you today? Have you accepted His salvation just to float along? Or do you seek Him wholeheartedly only when a crisis arises? His desire is for you and I to live lives of strong faith, motivated by our love for Him and His love for us. It is here that we will experience the gospel of the kingdom.
