Dakota Beacon

Get “saved” and know you are going to heaven. That was my earliest impression of what it meant to receive Jesus Christ. Of course, that truth remains self-evident. But then what do you do between the time you accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the time you die -- or He returns? Do we impose our own set of rules trying to be “good Christians” in our own strength and risk reimposing a form of law? That would be a reversion back to the Law itself from which Christians were delivered. Either way God’s people never could keep the Law. We could also join the “white knuckle club” and hang on for dear life until we die. Is that what Christ’s death and resurrection was all about? Surely there must be more to this Christ thing than simply joining a religious club, going to church and Bible study a few times a week, and hoping for the best. In fact, there may be something else at play.

Easter seems like a good time to take inventory.

Rather than viewing the Father and His Son as the Almighty Dispenser of Goods and Services from a self-centered point of view of “what will you do for me,” maybe it would be appropriate to ask the question, “Father, what do you want? What are your needs?” This is not as presumptuous as it sounds. Read on.

Much of my experience reverts to appropriating some understanding of the realm of the Spirit. Jesus spent much time trying to convey His message using metaphor and simile. Jesus called them parables. The language “Kingdom of God” and “Heaven” are illusory unless illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Someone suggested substituting the words “other realm” for the word’s “heaven” and “the heavenlies” when reading the New Testament. I found it amazing how quickly that suggestion broke down preconceived stereotypes opening the way for the Holy Spirit to inform my thinking.

Jesus Christ did not sacrifice himself to institute a social welfare system or establish a university of well doing. Scripture makes clear that God in Christ Jesus planned before creation to restore His original relationship with mankind. God’s wisdom is not man’s wisdom. Recount several verses from the New Testament pointing to a mystery being revealed within believers every day if they are willing to search the scripture and accept Jesus Christ for who He said He was.

John 14:20 “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

II Corinthians 4:6 “For God,… hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, … that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.”

II Corinthians 13:5 “…Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you…?”

Galatians 1:15 “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:”

Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Philippians 1:20 “According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Colossians 1:26 “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory   ”

These are just a few verses. There are many more.

A wayward and rebellious people could be restored to a right relationship with their Creator who wants and needs them if only the Kingdom of Self would be replaced by the Kingdom of God in the hearts of people. Sin and the sin nature of rebellion against God, of “doing one’s own thing,” can be expunged and replaced by Christ’s nature. All sense of placing oneself first above God would be displaced.

And Jesus said in Luke 17:22, “…behold, the kingdom of God is within you.” Paul understood this in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” If permitted, Christ will rule in that kingdom. In this way God the Father may be glorified by each believer through His indwelling Son made manifest day by day by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The resurrection of Jesus Christ signifies more than just going to Heaven in the sky in the sweet bye-and-bye. It starts now!

Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection made possible the reconciliation of God to His creation if only His creation would appropriate it!

From a personal perspective, Easter risks becoming a casualty of self-centeredness. This should not be offensive to anyone with eyes to see. Alternatively, the spiritual reality of Christ’s indwelling may be made manifest to all who believe in His sacrifice and resurrection. That is what Easter is all about. May the reality of the indwelling Christ be genuine this Easter in the life of all believers.

Dennis M. Patrick can be contacted at (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).