Knowing This King a I
t is self-evident that our world is in need. There are shortages of a variety of material goods. There are great deficiencies and inequities in justice and freedom. And in many areas of the world, peace is in painfully short supply. But ironically, singer Jackie DeShannon may have settled on one of the greatest global needs in her 1965 top-ten hit, “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love.” While it may be that her song didn’t necessarily focus on the TRUE SOURCE of love, the stated concept in the refrain is actually correct. And 1900 years before DeShannon’s hit, the Apostle John wrote with clear conviction that, “God is love” (1 John 4:16). Truly, the world’s greatest need is God HIMSELF, and His life-changing love. The world’s problems all trace themselves back to the garden of Eden. We sinned, and darkness entered. it wasn’t long before the selfishness of man plumbed the depths of depravity as Cain killed his brother Abel out of pure jealousy. And It seems that sinful darkness has no final threshold; it unswervingly finds new and deeper pockets of evil. But God had a plan from the beginning, an antidote to this deepening darkness. And it is a painfully simple plan in concept, although a deeply expensive one for the Trinity in light of the cross. God’s plan for an abundant and rich life is centered
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The Connection
SPRING 2020
in living life HIS WAY, being like Him. Through Moses, God gave the nation of Israel instructions for life and worship that were intended to guide them into Godliness. But His ways are so different from ours. Hannah, Samuel’s mother, prayed, “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you ...” (1 Samuel 2:2a). So how do we know what God is like? What is our template? Our model? The writer of Hebrews answers the question this way: “In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being …” (Hebrews 1:1-3a). The powerful truth is this: Jesus came into our world to show us the Father! Every movement of Christ was an object lesson. Every activity was a 3-D demonstration of what God is like. And that may have been sufficient, but God did not want to leave us to scratch our heads and wonder if we understood. No indeed, Jesus painstakingly taught about this King and the principles of His kingdom. Over and over and over, He carefully described this amazing King, and how
