Obedience
Where We Are
[W]e
grow in our knowledge of Christ-with-us by, first of all, constant
expectation of him in the place where we are, wherever that may be.
"The sacrament of the present moment," as it is sometimes
called, is from the human side nothing but the invocation,
expectation, and receptivity of God's presence and activity where we
are and in what we are doing at any given time. Then we steadily grow
in graceful interactions with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They
gradually take up all of our life into their trinitarian life (John
17:21–24).
Among
the many misunderstandings Jesus had to counteract in his teaching
was the one that held the kingdom to be some gigantic event in some
special place. This was human thinking about human kingdoms, which
always fit that description. He was constantly faced with people who
wanted to know when the kingdom of God was coming. When is the big
commotion? He patiently replied that the kingdom of God was not that
kind of thing. It was simply God reigning, governing. It is not a
special event you could see happening over here or possibly over
there. "Now look," he said, "the kingdom of God is
right here among you" (Luke 17:20–21, paraphrase). His main
sermon line was: "Get a new thought! The kingdom of the heavens
is available to you from right where you are!" (Matt. 4:17,
paraphrase).
From Knowing
Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge.
Copyright © 2009 by Dallas Willard. All rights reserved. Used with
permission of HarperCollins Publishers. |
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