Kingdom of God

Ez 37:21-24,  (paraphrased from NIV) 

"Then tell them, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take My people from among the nations where they are. I will gather them from round about and bring them to My Kingdom.  I will make them one nation in the world, on the high places, and one King will rule over them all. They will never again be from many nations and never again be divided into many kingdoms. They will not defile themselves with loving other things more than me, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people and I will become their God.

My Son Jesus will be King over them; there will be one Shepherd for all of them. They will do my will and carefully love one another. They will live the promised place, they and everyone who follows Me. Jesus my Son will be prince over them forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will establish them, increase their numbers, and place my sanctuary in their hearts forever. I will live in them; I will be their God whom they will love more than anything, and they will be my people whom I love with all My heart. Then, when my Heart is in them forever, the world will know that I, the Lord, sanctify My people.’”

People think they are a part of the Kingdom of God simply because they believe God is real. Other's because they believe Jesus is God's Son. These folks would probably be happy in a Heaven that had all of their loved ones living forever in peace and harmony, enjoying whatever they were permitted, even if they never really got to interact with God all that much. People in the Kingdom of God would rather exist in the lowest depths of Hell with no other loved ones if God were with them, than spend one second in Heaven away from God. Perhaps this takes time for the Spirit to grant.

When do we truly become saved? Some say that you are only saved if you have this kind of passion about God. Others say that you are saved as long as you believe in God. The 5 solas say that we are only saved by grace through faith in Christ according to scripture and all to enjoy and praise God. So then, is it necessary to enjoy God above all others in order to be saved? I know that all sin is the preference for something other than God, so anytime you sin you are enjoying something above God. But if you have to enjoy God most in order to be saved, you would have lost your salvation every time you sin. This certainly isn't true.

What level of faith is required to reach the minimum? Well, I don't know. This much I do know: stopping isn't an option. However much trust we've given to God, once we stop giving Him more of ourselves, we have stopped growing. Only deadwood doesn't grow, livewood even grows in the winter. Only dead fish don't swim, and freshwater fish swim upstream. Stop growing, and you might as well say you're done with God. I love how John puts it in Revelation 2 & 3, and Paul in Hebrews 12:1-3.

I love learning and growing. I can't tell you how disappointed I was that university was over when I graduated. I had very mixed feelings. I was also very immature. There is nothing as exhilarating as knowing that I will forever be learning about God, and growing in knowledge about Him. Two years ago, I had to constantly keep myself distracted in order to keep from being overwhelmed by the utter pointlessness of so much of my life. How many years worth of hours did I waste on video games? How much cash did I flush down the drain with my degrees? What is the point of all of this effort I put in when the person I did most of it for is unhappy with me? Do I even want to live if this is life? 

Now I can't keep my mind off of God, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Don't get me wrong, if I stop thinking about God, it is easy to forget about Him. But I get too depressed too quickly without Him to let myself stray too far. Now that I know that every time I return to God, He pulls me out of whatever muck and mire my emotions have pulled me down to, I know that I am safe with Him. I can let Him lead me down any path, because no matter how bad it gets, He will be my defence. I will be consoled by Him when I am thinking about Him. Life is awesome. I am so excited for death, because His love is better than life.