Different Kind of Weapons

Jesus, born a baby, grew into a man with calluses on his hands.  He worked like any other man to subdue the broken world around him.  When the time came, he was identified as the Son of God.  He withstood the temptation of the enemy not by the strength of his flesh, which had been stripped away by hunger, but by obedience and trust in the one who was his strength.  He began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  The mystery of his kingdom unified the chosen who were long lost and the lost who were newly chosen.  His kingdom was established with violence against the forces of evil.  He stood against them in battle with powerful weapons against which they had no defense.  The power of the world trembled with confusion, sin crumbled and the enemy was forced to accept defeat.  Normal broken men wielded the weapons of the Messiah; weapons they knew to use only as they were given by him and through him into the broken hearts of the lost.  The weapons that turned the tide of battle to victory for the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek and those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness were weapons of the heart.  They were wielded by the eternal, unstoppable power of forgiveness through grace. 
 
As the creator reached into the still heart of his son, killed by the crushing weight of hopelessness, defeat and sorrow, new life came forth.  Death evaporated in a black explosion of mist, sin washed away, diluted to nothingness by the everlasting source of love.  Jesus rose and set forth a kingdom in which those who were powerless in the world became powerful.  He has invited the weak to become strong, the poor to become rich and the lost to become found.  He gives love to be given, forgiveness to be extended, hope, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and understanding; against which there is no defense. 

The invitation is for all who would accept; repent, become apart of the kingdom of Jesus.  Abandon your life and its pain, give it to him and take up his life, freely offered.  Become new, become whole and live as a completely transformed person.  Live as a person with the same incomparable power in you that brought the Messiah back to life.  He breathed again in spite of the great power of the death of all creation focused on him.  You can wield that power through the same weapons he used to save you.  By love, by grace, by forgiveness, by hope and by kindness you can vanquish the warriors of hell and build a kingdom in the heart of people that will last for all eternity, unchallengeable.  You do not need anything else but Jesus. 

How can this battle and its victory play out in every day life?  You and I can walk with Jesus.  Our lives can be worship to him and healing to those around us.  We can offer a kind word, serve in a simple practical way, pray, share food and drink and time, fix a broken gate, mend a torn shirt or listen to a story.   We can fix computers, wash dishes, help with math homework and play catch in the street.  These are not simple, weak things in the Kingdom of God – they are His weapons of mass destruction.  In this way, measured in this way, defined in opposition to the world, the kingdom of heaven is established by you and me.  It is powerful beyond our comprehension or measurement by the power of he who has saved the world.  His work and our faith to follow will restore all things to him who began it all. 

Go, therefore, wherever you are led.  Extend the invitation of Jesus and watch as he changes the hearts and lives of those he brings you to.  Keep the faith, continue to grow side by side with those who are being saved with you.  Do not become discouraged by the lies of the enemy that the world has believed all around you.  After all, which is better; to work for the dissatisfying and temporary rewards of the world or to give yourself to the eternal and fully complete rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven?  I’m just askin’…