Your
Kingdom Come -- As I read in chapter 3 about us partnering with Jesus through
prayer to usher in His Kingdom, two passages of scripture popped in my head. The first scripture that popped was John
12:31-32 – “Now is the judgment of this
world, now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I when I am lifted up
will draw all people to myself.”
I’ve
always marveled at this scripture because in these two verses alone Jesus
proclaims judgment, announces a massive cosmic shake up of the principalities
and powers of darkness, and publicizes the most outrageous evangelism claim which is that this crusade will “draw all people to himself.” He covers a lot of ground in a few
words here. WHOA!
Even
more outrageous to me is how he pulls off judgment, casting out, and drawing
all people. He accomplishes these
incredible spiritual upheavals by being stripped and beaten and nailed to the
cross. In short, he reveals his utmost
power and authority by dying for prideful punks in weakness and shame. [Adding insult to injury – he offers this
declaration of spiritual victory just after stepping off a donkey –(not the
preferred mode of transport for kings asserting their ultimate authority.)]
The other scripture that came to
mind while reading and thinking of John 12 was Isaiah 53. Isaiah offers a visceral biography of
creation’s king when he prophesies,
“He grew up
before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely
he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He
was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet
it was the Lord’s
will to crush him and cause him to
suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.”
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.”
These passages lead me to a prayer: Dear god,
Thank you for revealing love’s highest glory and love’s greatest power through
Jesus. God I try to avoid it and pretend
many times it’s not true but in this moment I can see just a little that the
glory of love, the power of love, and your Kingdom of love are most intensely
and visibly seen in one eternal place and one eternal time…..the cross. God, often I forget or deny that if I want to encounter love in its
purest form, then I need to have the
courage to see Christ and Him crucified.
And Lord, I need to see Steve Mann and him crucified. God, give me the courage and the wisdom to
put myself in a sacred place of laying down my life for others so that I can
commune with you, and with Jesus, and your Holy Spirit as a child in the image
of your Son – dying, in love, for a lost world.
From the very beginning you willed to make me in your image. Help me to see the freedom in letting you accomplish
this promise.
Thank you for unleashing your spectacular
power unto salvation on Good Friday.
Thank you for inviting me to participate in “your kingdom come” by
bidding me to take up my cross daily.
Amen.
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