A few years ago I became acquainted with a marvel called a carbon nanotube (CNT). This unbelievably strong, incredibly small molecule radically improves the properties of any material into which it is introduced. The challenge is making that introduction. Yet, there is a mystery. The industries that will one day be revolutionized by them demonstrate a peculiar indifference. “Yes,” they say, “We are aware of nanotubes, but no, we are not going to divert our resources to CNT’s until you demonstrate they can be scaled up. We are familiar with our current materials and we are tooled-up to use them.”

Peace is a lot like nanotubes. Peace comes from the Hebrew word shalom. Shalom is a much bigger word than its efficient English counterpart. Shalom is prosperitytranquilitywell-beingsafety and security, according to Jim Branch, the Blue Book’s author. He notes that our word wholeness is the closest word in meaning to shalom.

Before Jesus ascended He said, “Peace (or wholeness) I leave with you; My wholeness I give to you… So do not be troubled or fearful.” Wholeness of the type that Jesus left is like a CNT in that it too is both incredibly powerful and overlooked. Christians know wholeness exists because the Bible tells us it does. We believe it will radically alter our lives and society if and when it is introduced. But until we see it on a larger scale, we are not going to divert our attention to something that seems to exist mostly in theory. The world has conditioned us to function without wholeness. We aren’t going to divert our attention to some pie in the sky Bible promise when we have figured out how to make our lives work without it. We are tooled up with our means of coping and we congratulate ourselves that we are getting by.

However, just as there are pioneers in the realm of industry, there are also innovators and early adopters within the body of Christ. They are those who have not only read the Bible, they have determined that its promises were meant to be experienced and are giving themselves to that enterprise. In the same way the stock of the CNT companies is currently overlooked, the Kingdom of God, with its righteousness, wholeness, and joy is also overlooked and dramatically undervalued.

We know that His kingdom is an eternal realm. We know that it has come and is within us. We know that its government will increase. But still, in spite of these things, many believe the kingdom is out of reach for man in his depraved condition. They pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” totally convinced “Thy kingdom” is a then rather than a now proposition. This large segment of Christendom is so preoccupied with its fallen nature, it is certain the flesh will prevail over the Spirit—that this present evil age cannot be retaken by the Church. This kingdom of God is therefore a future thing that can only be advanced by men in glorified bodies.

I am not a theologian or a scholar. I am an investor, entrusted with some talents. I am currently investing them in a Jesus who is from age to age the same and must win the battle. Even though this world is filled with devils who threaten to undo us, I am investing in him who hath willed His truth to triumph through us. (Thank you Martin Luther for the vision you helped implant into my heart.)

I see Jesus as that One Word destined to obliterate Satan. I cannot help but see Jesus as a benevolent, determined Monarch who will triumph over his enemies. I am investing in the idea that Jesus Christ, through His Bride—the Church will be glorified in this earth. Even though it has not been scaled up, I am investing in the proposition the Church will reclaim her identity in Christ (beyond buildings and denominations) and fulfill her calling as the light of this world. I am investing in the idea that Father wants the world to see the wholeness of His Son in us. I have come to believe God wants to scale up the reality of Christ in us, the hope of glory.

Whether, we are a kingdom now, kingdom then or a kingdom now-and-then sort of Christian, we can have wholeness because “The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.” (John 14:26)

Father, may those of us who have buried our talents dig them back up and reinvest them by faith into your now-kingdom. Help us to realize Christ in us, the hope of glory. Help us to discover the resurrected life of Christ in us today. Help us to see ourselves as the new creations in Christ that we are. Raise up a new generation of kingdom innovators and early adopters who will scale-up the righteousness, wholeness, and joy of your kingdom so that the majesty of Your name would be acknowledged. Let this be.

 

 

 

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