ABOVE & BEYOND

The Christian faith is in itself mysterious and prophetic by nature.  We worship a God whose ways are neither our ways nor our thoughts His thoughts.  His are so much higher than ours.  And yet, God is a very personal and intimate God with His people.  Those who are truly born of the Spirit of God will have to be people of mystery and prophetic, living on true faith in the Mystery of God.

The Christian faith requires me to look up and beyond what is right here in front of me. The Christian faith requires me to put my faith and trust in what I cannot always see; to things that will be but are not yet; to promises waiting to be perfected.  It is not that I ignore or don’t pay attention to the present; it’s just that I keep the now in the perspective of what is to come.  This requires an understanding that is fueled not by proof but by Covenant.

That “old time religion” the fathers and mothers of faith lived, and the old bumper sticker I once had on my car, is good enough for me:

“God said it – I believe it – That settles it”

God made a Covenant with Abraham that continued down through history.  That Covenant was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who then ushered in a new Covenant on the roots of that original one.  That Covenant includes all who receive and believe in the Covenant Himself.  I did and I do.

In a world full of arguing about God and proving everything about God and the Story of God in the Bible, I choose to simply believe God.  That requires me to live in the Mystery of God and the Prophetic Vision of God.  It requires me to look up and beyond, to trust in the Covenant He has made with me, and to know with all my heart and mind that His ways and thoughts are not mine, but they are trustworthy and will stand forever True.

This world is not my home and I must not cling to it or look for the living among the dead while I live in it.  He alone gives me life, abundant and eternal.