The coin used for paying tax to Rome bore an image, it bore the image of Caesar (Matt 22:15-22), it meant that Caesar claimed it as his own. Whatever bore Caesar’s image belonged to Caesar, in the same manner whoever bears the image of God belongs to God. My soul is stamped with a deeper image than any imprinted on some old coin, it is imprinted with the image of the One who demands of me the highest allegiance of all.Let us make man in Our image, in our likeness … (Gen1:26) – image the Hebrew words, tselem and demut refer to essential nature, copy, characteristics and essence.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Cor 5:20). As ambassadors of heaven, we represent our Father’s Kingdom on earth. We are ambassadors of Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. We occupy land in a foreign country but the property belongs to the Kingdom of Heaven. The land on which an embassy is located is regarded as the sovereign territory of the nation whose embassy is located there. Our home, our office and indeed anywhere our influence extends becomes an “embassy” of heaven.
As ambassadors we represent our home government, when people meet us - what we say and do and will reflect the government we represent and the Kingdom we hold our citizenship.
God does not need to conquer the world because it is already His – the earth belongs to the Lord and everything in it, the world and all who live it. (Ps24:1) God is not in the business of killing people, burning buildings or destroying property, religion destroys it can not restore a lonely heart, it can not meet our deepest needs for in it's essence it craves power and domination. The Kingdom of God has invaded earth, it's target is human hearts not geograpical territory.
From our pulpits we preach - just hang on, things are tough but the Lord is comming back and when He does He will get us out of this mess. There might be a lot of appeal in going to heaven in the sweet by and by - but people need to be taught how to live in the world not how to escape from the world. Remember this, we never fell from heaven but from our dominion and authority on earth, it was Satan who fell from heaven not humankind.
For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)
We are His ambassadors - we tell the world the Kingdom is not about religion, that is man's search for God, we show the world that God has revealed Himself to man and sent His Son to free us from our sin and restore us to Himself.
The first recorded words of Jesus' public ministry were, Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near (Matt 4:17). We don't need to SCREAM the word REPENT!!! - Jesus is saying here, we need to change our minds, change our direction - you see action follows follows thinking - we have to decide to turn around, Why? - because the Kingdom of Heaven is here and if you don't change you're way of thinking you will miss it.
3 comments:
Love it.
"Remember this, we never fell from heaven but from our dominion and authority on earth, it was Satan who fell from heaven not humankind."
Love it.
What do you think the "ambassador" thing means? I see it so often slapped at Christians who are not behaving in a middle-class respectable seemly beige fashion. I think it gets used so often as a manipulation, to get us all to conform. So I struggle with that word and overcoming all of those gooberly things.
I love what you say about the earth. All this talk about heaven and yet it is the earth that shall be our new habitation as it is right now.
Good stuff :)
I love how the kingdom of heaven just runs alongside everything. I wonder what the Church looks like from the perspective of the kingdom of heaven, with Christ building it? I imagine it would probably be a different view from what we see, the visible motley crue of Sunday morning congregants :)
Fantastic Mark! I don't think most of what passes for Christianity these days wants to see that the kingdom is at hand presently.
When the kingdom is at hand right now it requires we get off our butts and do something. When the kingdom is nothing more than a heavenly abode after we die we are content to follow a few rules, and rituals that we are told will get us there. Much easier that way. Don't have to get our hands dirty.
I emailed you too.
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