The Applause of Heaven - Max Lucado [43]
When the ticket agent told me that I would have to miss the flight, I put to work my best persuasive powers.
"But the flight hasn't left yet."
"Yes, but you got here too late."
"I got here before the plane left; is that too late?"
"The regulation says you must arrive ten minutes before the flight is scheduled to depart. That was two minutes ago."
"But, ma'am," I pleaded, "I've got to be in Houston by this evening."
She was patient but firm. "I'm sorry, sir, but the rules say passengers must be at the gate ten minutes before scheduled departure time."
"I know what the rules say," I explained. "But I'm not asking for Justice; I'm asking for mercy."
She didn't give it to me.
But God does. Even though by the "book" I'm guilty, by God's love I get another chance. Even though by the law I'm indicted, by mercy I'm given a fresh start.
"For it is by grace you have been saved ... not by works, so that no one can boast."
No other world religion offers such a message. All others demand the right performance, the right sacrifice, the right chant, the right ritual, the right seance or experience. Theirs is a kingdom of trade-offs and barterdom. You do this, and God will give you that.
The result? Either arrogance or fear. Arrogance if you think you've achieved it, fear if you think you haven't.
Christ's kingdom is just the opposite. It is a kingdom for the poor. A kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased. You are placed into God's kingdom. You are "adopted." And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you admit you can't do enough. You don't earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude.
I recently read a story of a woman who for years was married to a harsh husband. Each day he would leave her a list of chores to complete before he returned at the end of the day. "Clean the yard. Stack the firewood. Wash the windows...
If she didn't complete the tasks, she would be greeted with his explosive anger. But even if she did complete the list, he was never satisfied; he would always find inadequacies in her work.
After several years, the husband passed away. Some time later she remarried, this time to a man who lavished her with tenderness and adoration.
One day, while going through a box of old papers, the wife discovered one of her first husband's lists. And as she read the sheet, a realization caused a tear of joy to splash on the paper.
"I'm still doing all these things, and no one has to tell me. I do it because I love him."
That is the unique characteristic of the new kingdom. Its subjects don't work in order to go to heaven; they work because they are going to heaven. Arrogance and fear are replaced with gratitude and joy
That's the kingdom Jesus proclaimed: a kingdom of acceptance, eternal life, and forgiveness.
We don't know how John received Jesus' message, but we can imagine. I like to think of a slight smile coming over his lips as he heard what his Master said.
"So that's it. That is what the kingdom will be. That is what the King will do."
For now he understood. It wasn't that Jesus was silent; it was that John had been listening for the wrong answer. John had been listening for an answer to his earthly problems, while Jesus was busy resolving his heavenly ones.
That's worth remembering the next time you hear the silence of God.
If you've asked for a mate, but are still sleeping alone ... if you've asked for a child, but your womb stays barren ... if you've asked for healing, but are still hurting ... don't think God isn't listening. He is. And he is answering requests you are not even making.
Saint Teresa of Avila was insightful enough to pray, "Do not punish me by granting that which I wish or ask."',
The apostle Paul was honest enough to write, "We do not know what we ought to pray for.""
The fact is, John wasn't asking too much; he was asking too little. He was asking the Father to resolve the temporary, while Jesus was busy resolving the