Where
are we humans in this drama? We were
dreamed of by God as the uni-plural Bride for God the Son and as a new breed of
citizens of His new household who will rule, reign and judge with Jesus in the
new heaven, new earth, new Jerusalem.
Despite the temptations of Satan and our fall into them, God is
restoring us. We become ‘sons’ of God
the Father by siding completely with
God the Son and submitting to the
power and work of God the Spirit
(just as Jesus did on earth). And we are
being transformed into his likeness: all of life’s experiences – including our
gifts talents and abilities – are training, discipline, judgement for the place
we have as sons in His eternal kingdom.
It is preparation for our part in ruling, reigning, judging the world and
angels in that zone where love, light and truth (righteousness) makes their
home.
And
like in the coil of rope, it is already present in the purview of God, but for
us time-space-matter limited humans, we see it as future and can only
experience a foretaste of that new order.
Remember
how Jesus used to say, ‘the kingdom of God is here, now, in me’? Wherever he goes, the kingdom of His Father
is present. And as we join him, it
becomes increasingly true that, when we abide in him and live according to the
Spirit, there in that place and time is the kingdom of our Father.
And
remember the teaching of Paul in Ephesians 1: “you
were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge
of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory”.
Our scriptures give us a wonderful picture and analogy for us. It is one many men and women reject because it seems to kill off the idea that we are masters of our own destiny. It is the image of the potter and the clay and the vessels he makes.
Let
me share with you two pieces of poetry.
The first, Invictus, lends its
title to the film of the same name starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon
concerning the story of Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. William Ernest Henley wrote:
Out of the night that
covers me,
Black as the Pit from
pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods
may be
For my unconquerable
soul.
In the fell clutch of
circumstance
I have not winced nor
cried aloud.
Under the
bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody,
but unbowed.
Beyond this place of
wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror
of the shade,
And yet the menace of
the years
Finds, and shall
find, me unafraid.
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.
The
second, Hold Thou My Hand, is undated
but appears to come from around a century and a half ago. It is most often set to music and sung. Winifred A. Iverson wrote:
The Lord will perfect
that which doth concern me,
His way is perfect,
so His goal must be;
All life’s events in
harmony are working
For those clear
issues which I yet shall see.
The Lord will perfect
that which doth concern me,
And will complete
each half-formed thing He sends:
His rich designs most
carefully are woven
There are with Him no
loose or broken ends.
The Lord will perfect
that which doth concern me,
And finish what His
grace has here begun;
He gathers up life’s
fragments losing nothing,
And turns to good
account each single one.
The Lord will perfect
that which doth concern me,
Will do it in so many
different ways;
By loss or gain, by
high success or failure,
By steady course or
unexpected phase
The Lord will perfect
that which doth concern me,
Expecting me to show
Him on my part
A trust intelligent
and full of interest
In all these purposes
of His great heart.
I was moved when I watched Invictus the movie, but more so when I read the poem. It is a noble work of literature. But for me, it goes half-way on the journey God is taking us humans on. I believe we need to get to Invictus by Henley – and then go on and take the next step. I believe we need to move from I am the master of my fate | I am the captain of my soul to surrendering the mastery of my fate and the captaincy of my soul to Jesus. This comes by realising that, in this life, we are in transition, under restoration and under new management. Invictus is the human story of the eternal kingdom, but it is part of the process God uses to move us from seeing ourselves as pawns and captives to seeing ourselves as sons and princes.
Through the combined work of God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit, since before I was formed in my mother’s womb, He has
been drawing and wooing me out from captivity and death and destruction, through
Invictus to Hold Thou My Hand. As master
of my fate and captain of my soul, I surrender both to Him who died for me and
lives for me, now and forever. Like
Nelson Mandela: from captivity, through personal sovereignty, to the Presidency.
So
… we’ve done the looking. Next post we will begin the process of reconsidering Righteousness,
Salvation, Redemption and Justification.
Cheers,
Kevin.
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