OUR SECURITY IS IN OUR IDENTITY Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” “Take heed that no one deceives you. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Matthew 24:2, 4, 6, 33 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Luke 21:25-28 The World is afraid when various shakings begin to rock the foundations of their hopes; when the best earthly minds in every sphere of Human interactions – Economics, World Politics and Diplomacy, Food Security, Environment Preservation, Social Cohesion, Science and Technology, Medicine, Fashion and Style, the Arts – proves unreliable against an ever changing, unpredictable and un-controllable landscape of life. The World fears because they have grown used to the notion, since the Fall in Eden – ‘My hand, even mine own strength, shall bring me salvation’. They are used to holding the ability of Invictus : It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. This has been the fort and spirit of World philosophy for long, placing hope for the future solidly on human ability and philosophy. But we know that Life is Spiritual – and it can by no means be propelled or powered by human ingenuity – ‘It is the spirit that generates life; the flesh profiteth nothing. The words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life’ (Jn. 6:63). Adam-the-First would easily warn the world of the folly of putting one’s faith in the flesh. The reason why the world flounders and faints is because their hope is built on sinking sand. The wisdom of the world is foolishness to God, raging against the Revealed Wisdom in Holy Writ: I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. (1 Cor.6:19-20) … knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Pet.1:18 – 19) The reason why the world flounders and fears is because all their hopes are rooted on a corpus of their inherent skills and ability, past experiences, predictions and philosophies, as well as blind hope, which they wrongfully term ‘faith’. To the degree that we, Pilgrims, align ourselves with they of this lower realm, to that degree we shall flounder and fear with them; and we shall suffer loss. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) They that regard lying vanities (mirages and illusions of the earth), forsake their own mercies (the Divine Heritage, which is theirs, through Christ). (Jonah 2:8) Our confidence, at this time is not that we are wiser or stronger or better than they in the world; that does not matter here. Our confidence and firm assurance rests in the truth that: ‘… you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory’ (Col.3:3-4). To the degree that Christ appears on the canvas, the screen of our continuous consideration, to that degree we shall walk in His glory – to wit – ‘I have overcome the world’. In the World, the Pilgrim will suffer tribulation, but within the secure place of the Veil of the Holy of Holies, our Anchor will hold, and we shall neither fear nor be moved. In a Time when anything, and everything goes – when there is no centre (of identity) to hold things together – it is incumbent upon the Glorious Bride of Christ to demonstrate the Unwavering Constancy of the Divine Person. By looking unto Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our Faith (Heb.12:2), we know that we shall prove to be the Pillar of Strength that wavers not in the midst of the rumblings and shakings that now toss the world to and fro. Our fixed gaze on the Cross, the Empty Tomb and the Throne of Grace, will bring us into that blessed place of experience, where – unlike the shivering and frightened forces of the Earth, we shall confidently sing: I rest on His unchanging grace In every high and stormy gale My Anchor holds within the Veil. That is why we are confident – for in Him we live, in Him we move, in Him we have our being (Acts7:28). ‘If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth’ (Col.3:1-2). Christ Jesus is our Identity and the Chief Cornerstone.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 07:33:04 +0000
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