Seeing Grace

It’s really quite fantastic when you think about what Jesus came to do and actually did.

Jesus began His public mission to mankind by announcing a new reality was here on earth and within reach for all people! He called this new reality the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven! This new reality was in Him and soon would be in all those who believed. Then He revealed the only way one could “see this Kingdom” was to be born from above or recreated new. What? That’s different! He referred to Himself as the Door to this new world. He said this new world was not coming like men think. He plainly said it would be inside of you. His heart’s cry was “on earth as it is in heaven.” All fantastic!

Then the mystery of His grace and the Kingdom of His Heaven slowly was revealed by Him through His teachings. Especially through His parables. He showed the legalists how the Law could never be kept by men and that angered the high achievers and the hypocrites. The secret was that God would take away the sin of the world in a day and open the Door that no man could shut. God would give His own righteousness to those who believe and forever end the question of whether or not a person was good enough for heaven. All who believe on Jesus would pass through the Door by the gift of the Spirit, passing from death to life, passing through judgment without being judged! A great mystery of a death and a resurrection through Him!

In this new reality, union with God becomes the every day experience. A new and living way was prepared by Jesus and now we are in the new reality and where He is always while we walk this earth, seated with Him in heavenly places! We live our lives now on earth from within for our life is now hidden in God with Christ and God is hidden in us through Christ.

No eye saw this! No ear heard this! No man imagined this! But the Spirit now reveals it all to us who believe! Behold the genius of God! Behold the great love of God! The believer lives in two worlds at the same time. Just like Jesus did when He walked among us. The good fight of faith is to reject the criticism, condemnation and persecution from this world because you belong to Jesus and embrace the words of your God who loved you and gave Himself for you.

Jesus cooked breakfast for Peter on a beach after His resurrection when Peter was frustrated from working all night and catching no fish and distraught about the death of His friend, Jesus. Two worlds. When Peter saw Jesus he suddenly caught a net full of fish and found himself talking with Jesus over grilled fish on the beach. Two worlds. See it? It’s yours. He came to give you the Kingdom. Enjoy. This is not theory. This is real. Find your beach. It’s waiting.

Do you see the picture of the two realities in that scene with Jesus and Peter on the beach? Moments before Peter recognized Jesus on the beach, Peter was tired and frustrated with no fish. Then he sees Jesus and suddenly he has a boatload of fish and he is so excited and energized that he jumps off the boat into the water and swims ashore to have a meal with Jesus on the beach. Two different worlds.

The sea and land (beach) symbolize the two worlds that exist at the same time and “parallel” to each other. Maybe that is one reason we are drawn to the beach. We step through the Door to the other side when we see Him. That invisible realm can reverberate into our seen realm and fill our boat with fish and bring joy to our heart. The Kingdom of Heaven manifests in this kingdom of darkness and men see God’s goodness. Jesus planned it that way.

Another picture of the two parallel realms is when Jesus walked “alongside the two disciples” on the way to Emmaus. He walked parallel to them on the same road. See it? The same road but those on that road were in two different worlds.

They could not see who He was at first. In the breaking of the bread their eyes were opened and they saw it was Him all along walking “parallel” with them. The Covenant meal is a bridge to the unseen realm of the Spirit because it reminds us that God is not counting our sins against us anymore because of the broken body and death of Jesus. With great joy they ran all the way back to Jerusalem to tell the others. Two worlds.

After His resurrection, when He appeared and disappeared to His own for 40 days, He was teaching them that He would be with them always even though they could not see Him with their natural eyes. Soon they would learn to live in two worlds at the same time and they did.

One day Peter said to a lame man, “Silver and gold we do not have to give you, but what I do have I give you: Be healed in the name of Jesus!”

And the lame man walked again.

Two worlds.

James Barron