There is another way to live and there is another country to live in…
This other country and it’s way of life was in the works from long ago. It started when God, as he interacted with some of the first people who acknowledged him said, ‘I will build a nation for myself.” In an account later given about future times God says, “I have built a nation for myself.” And in the middle of then and the future, a messenger named Jesus came saying, “God’s kingdom is here and is open to ALL people.:
Jesus proceeded to teach about this nation and what it would mean to live in it. He taught it would be a country governed by love, a country with no walls, and a country open to all people. He taught its citizens would not be controlled by law and order but by a spirit that encompassed all that was good, fair, and just without showing partiality.
Then, similar to many leaders today, the leaders of Jesus’ time felt their status, security, and privileged lives being threatened by Jesus and the ideals of the nation he was building. Not wanting to open their walls to anyone, they sacrificed Jesus so their privileged lives over others could be maintained. This was not to be the end of the fledgling nation though.
Jesus, truly being a man living with God and having power over life, rose from the dead and carried on teaching about God’s kingdom. After 40 more days Jesus left for his life with God. Promising to return and not to leave his citizens on their own, Jesus then sent an ambassador to dwell within each person seeking to live in his kingdom. The revolution had begun.
Having ultimate wisdom and foresight, Jesus warned that his infant nation would often be infiltrated by those seeking to take advantage of it. He kept it no secret either that many who chose to live in the love he taught would face a similar end as his own. Yet Jesus proved in his actions that love trumps all else, even death, and he laid the foundation for another way to live… a better and eternal way.
So how does one enter into this other way of living as a citizen of God’s country? The immigration process is straight forward. Start by reading Jesus’ declarations of independence from things that keep us from a life of love. Join the revolution by becoming his student. Go to the source of Jesus’ teachings and stay clear of the con-men and the spinsters.
Next, ask for your passport. Your passport, and proof of your citizenship, is the ambassador Jesus promised to send to those seeking to live by love in his nation. This spiritual ambassador will dwell within you, advise you, and teach you how to navigate life in the love of God. You will never live alone in His country.
There is another way to live, and this is it… in God’s kingdom… in the way of love.
