Friday: Trainees for the New Order
WEEK 29
FRIDAY
TRAINEES FOR THE NEW ORDER
Hebrews 6:17-20
We have seen that the idea of the kingdom of God on earth gave the Christians a mastery over the ultimate hopelessness of human living history has a goal, and that goal is the kingdom of God on earth. That kingdom carne in preview in the society in the Acts of the Apostles and will come in full consummation with the return of Jesus Christ to reign. In the meantime we can be the agents of the coming of that kingdom now. And we can prepare ourselves to be the agents.
Jesus pointed to this preparation in these words: “‘Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest’” (Matt 13:52). Note that important phrase: “trained . . . for the kingdom of heaven.” It visualizes a course of training in the kingdom mentality and outlook and spirit. When you are trained for the army, you have trained out of you what can’t fit into army mentality and practice and trained into you the things that do.
Now that was what Jesus expected of us, to have trained out of us all that will not fit into the kingdom of God and trained into us all that will. We were to enlist as trainees of the New Order.
What would that involve? It would mean all pessimism about humanity and the future of humanity and of the world would be trained out of us. The kingdom will come—and come on earth! We are the people with a future—and a future with ultimate victory in it. We belong not to ultimate defeat but to ultimate Victory! And that ultimate Victory is now. Jesus is Lord! Not will be—is! This glorious passage gives that invincibility now: “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Heb 12:28 RSV). Is the kingdom of God the one unshakable kingdom? Yes! Everything around is shaken and shakable. But the kingdom is not shaken, for it is founded on the foundations of the universe, founded on the rock of Reality. We stand unshaken in the midst of an unshakable kingdom.
O God, our Lord, how can we thank you enough for this unshakable kingdom? We may tremble on it, but it doesn’t tremble. It is there, eternally there. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: Everything that does not fit the kingdom will be trained out of me today.