You cannot enter the Kingdom
of Heaven unless you are born again…
Years ago on my first mission trip to India
I visited a small shop in Kolkata looking for some token gifts for my wife and
friends. The shop owner was Hindu. On the wall behind his cash register was a large
photo of an older man with a long grey beard. He was very elaborately dressed.
He wore a fancy headpiece. I asked who he was. The shop owner replied, “He is
my god”. I asked, “Have you ever met
him?” He then proudly told me about several times he had met his god
personally. I asked how old his god was and he simply replied, “Oh, he’s dead.
He died five years ago.” I told him that my God had died two thousand
years ago, then rose again. I asked what happened to all the people who
had followed the teachings of his god. He told me, “No problem, there are
plenty of gods. They found another one.”
In John 3, Nicodemus, a great Jewish leader
in the temple at Jerusalem went to meet Jesus personally to try to figure out
who or what He was. Jesus immediately told Him, You cannot enter the Kingdom of
heaven unless you are born again… This was more than a meet and greet.
Jesus offered Nicodemus (and through this verse us) eternal life. No god before
or since Jesus had the power or authority to make this offer. As Followers we believe this verse. We have
prayed the prayer. We have repented our sin. Jesus has saved us. Our hope is in
Him. We await His glorious returning…..
So why has an election outcome that didn’t
go the way they voted got so many of my Christian friends tied in knots? They
are convinced their country will not survive. They say the American Dream is
dead. What is the American Dream that is so fragile a thing that one term of a
president can destroy it? I’m tempted here to define and pick apart the counter biblical elements of the
American Dream comparing it to the biblical standard, but I won’t. Instead let
me ask you to tell me about your kingdom dream.
I’m a flag lovin’, gun totin’, chicken eatin', bible
carryin’ patriot. I love America. I’m blessed to have been born American. But I
am far more blessed to have been born again in Christ. My passport
identifies me as American, but I have emigrated to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is
my current primary residence. My eternal life won’t begin when I die. It began
the moment Jesus saved me. It will never end. That citizenship will still exist
a million years from now. When the earth as we know it has perished, The
Kingdom of heaven will remain unchanged. When we are there we will look toward
the Throne of the Ancient of Days and see the Son seated at His right hand,
2012 will be a dusty memory and names of presidents unimportant. Christian
friends, relax! You voted. Your choice lost. You have a president you don’t
like but a King you love. You are still citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. That
will never change.
American and our particular version of the
American Dream are minor gods that can die. Since its inception America has
been in a state of constant change. We began as a slave state but changed that.
We used to jail debtors but changed that. We’ve experienced civil war, world
wars, terrorist attacks, dust bowls, depressions and even Frankenstorms. We are
a great social experiment. Some of what we try fails, but we always center
ourselves and continue.
As Christians we can be patriots but must
never love our country the way we love our Lord. We can never exalt our
American Dreams like we exalt out God. We have a God who can never die and
leave us looking for a replacement. He is a God of peace. If the election has
left us without peace, we are looking for peace in the wrong place. Our angst
over this election is misplaced. Where is our angst for the poor, the lost, the
unloved, the homeless, the abused children, the lonely? Where’s our angst over
the need for prayer and revival? We must not let one election divert our eyes
from the Kingdom of Heaven and its reigning King, Jesus.
I lift my eyes to the hills (far
above Washington). From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, maker of
Heaven and earth. (Psalm 121:1,2 NKJV)
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