Kingdom's Keys Fellowship
Where God's Kingdom Meets Man's Heart.
Pentecost 31 The Final Question
Pentecost 31 The Final Question
Two little boys are playing when one grabs a toy from the other. The one little boy hits the other and takes the toy back. His mother says, “Give the toy back and tell him you’re sorry. Go ahead, tell him.” The little boy is still mad. He curls up his lip and says defiantly he won’t. Again his mother says, “Tell him or you’ll get a spanking.” Half looking at the boy he hit, his lips curled in a snarl, he says very reluctantly, “I’m sorry.” What does this say about human nature?
First, no one is born relationally perfect. We act self-centeredly. We look for immediate satisfaction. We go after what we want when we want it. We don’t do “sorry” very easily. We want to be in control. We react impetuously. We lash out in anger when something doesn’t go our way. We are quick to take offense. For survival adults just sophisticate their reactions. The internal responses are still the same.
Second, we have to learn from outside ourselves. We have to be taught how to react. Morality is not inborn. We depend on parents to give us a sense of right and wrong and how to react. We grow up among peers that influence us. Trial and error is not just an expression it is a reality. That too is an outside source that is inwardly embraced.
Third, we have the internal capacity to trust. But what do we put our trust in? With only the surrounding environment of flawed people and flawed systems developed by flawed people guessing at what is the best way to survive, there is an increasing realization that trusting them doesn’t work. We need something more perfect even more perfectly personal---a perfect personal example.
From the ancient past to the present, of all the philosophies, religions, ethical systems, self help literature and TV gurus promoting them, only one figure stands out. He is Jesus Christ. He transcends history not only because He was an outstandingly good, ethical, charismatic person, which He was. It was because He sacrificed His life and rose from the dead to show that He uniquely manifested the relational perfection needed to make a person whole. No one else can make that claim. He went through life on earth and the death we all experience because He really loves us in spite of our imperfections knowing that the bottom line for every human being is personal stability and security followed by relational fulfillment. This is exactly what He brings to those who shift their trust from world and religious standards to Him. He is not a cause, a rebel, an instigator or a religious zealot---He is God the Son who came to restore us to our Creator and to one another.
The ethics, the morality, the personal character and integrity Jesus demonstrated fulfilled an historic heritage embodied in a set of teachings and people whose meaning and purpose He fulfilled. His Resurrection was the culmination of a prophetic set of documents that not only predicted His coming but also His death and Resurrection.
It is not only the past presence of Jesus but also the continuing presence of Jesus that motivates the movement centered in Him. It is the transformation in the human heart that He brings. It is real, it is life changing and it moves us out of self-concern to making Him known in the world. It is only changed hearts that can bring change into a hardened world. Do we become perfect if we accept Him? No. What happens is our focus is no longer what pleases us but what pleases Him. The Spirit coming through that attitudinal move of the heart is what catches the attention of others. He brings change in their hearts. As we move in Him we move from His perfection and grow spiritually in Him.
Remember the two little boys? The question for parents and all those involved in interpersonal influence is this. Who will you trust the raising of your children to? Whose wisdom will you seek when it comes to relating to others? Will it be the collective wisdom of other parents, schools, friends, peer groups all of whose perfection is rather suspect. Or will it be the One who died and rose again? Peter had the right response when Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave Him as others had, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (Jn.6:68).”
Still ahead, the background for the Cross…….stay tuned.
Two little boys are playing when one grabs a toy from the other. The one little boy hits the other and takes the toy back. His mother says, “Give the toy back and tell him you’re sorry. Go ahead, tell him.” The little boy is still mad. He curls up his lip and says defiantly he won’t. Again his mother says, “Tell him or you’ll get a spanking.” Half looking at the boy he hit, his lips curled in a snarl, he says very reluctantly, “I’m sorry.” What does this say about human nature?
First, no one is born relationally perfect. We act self-centeredly. We look for immediate satisfaction. We go after what we want when we want it. We don’t do “sorry” very easily. We want to be in control. We react impetuously. We lash out in anger when something doesn’t go our way. We are quick to take offense. For survival adults just sophisticate their reactions. The internal responses are still the same.
Second, we have to learn from outside ourselves. We have to be taught how to react. Morality is not inborn. We depend on parents to give us a sense of right and wrong and how to react. We grow up among peers that influence us. Trial and error is not just an expression it is a reality. That too is an outside source that is inwardly embraced.
Third, we have the internal capacity to trust. But what do we put our trust in? With only the surrounding environment of flawed people and flawed systems developed by flawed people guessing at what is the best way to survive, there is an increasing realization that trusting them doesn’t work. We need something more perfect even more perfectly personal---a perfect personal example.
From the ancient past to the present, of all the philosophies, religions, ethical systems, self help literature and TV gurus promoting them, only one figure stands out. He is Jesus Christ. He transcends history not only because He was an outstandingly good, ethical, charismatic person, which He was. It was because He sacrificed His life and rose from the dead to show that He uniquely manifested the relational perfection needed to make a person whole. No one else can make that claim. He went through life on earth and the death we all experience because He really loves us in spite of our imperfections knowing that the bottom line for every human being is personal stability and security followed by relational fulfillment. This is exactly what He brings to those who shift their trust from world and religious standards to Him. He is not a cause, a rebel, an instigator or a religious zealot---He is God the Son who came to restore us to our Creator and to one another.
The ethics, the morality, the personal character and integrity Jesus demonstrated fulfilled an historic heritage embodied in a set of teachings and people whose meaning and purpose He fulfilled. His Resurrection was the culmination of a prophetic set of documents that not only predicted His coming but also His death and Resurrection.
It is not only the past presence of Jesus but also the continuing presence of Jesus that motivates the movement centered in Him. It is the transformation in the human heart that He brings. It is real, it is life changing and it moves us out of self-concern to making Him known in the world. It is only changed hearts that can bring change into a hardened world. Do we become perfect if we accept Him? No. What happens is our focus is no longer what pleases us but what pleases Him. The Spirit coming through that attitudinal move of the heart is what catches the attention of others. He brings change in their hearts. As we move in Him we move from His perfection and grow spiritually in Him.
Remember the two little boys? The question for parents and all those involved in interpersonal influence is this. Who will you trust the raising of your children to? Whose wisdom will you seek when it comes to relating to others? Will it be the collective wisdom of other parents, schools, friends, peer groups all of whose perfection is rather suspect. Or will it be the One who died and rose again? Peter had the right response when Jesus asked the disciples if they would leave Him as others had, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (Jn.6:68).”
Still ahead, the background for the Cross…….stay tuned.
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