Long Distance

The greatest distance in the Bible isn’t measured by how far the East is from the West, but by how far Jesus humbled himself to step down off that throne in Heaven. Being worshiped night and day by the seraphim and the angels, Jesus lets go of his power and makes himself nothing.

By stooping to be formed as an embryo in the womb of an unknown Jewish teenager in Palestine, Jesus demonstrated just how far he was willing to go to make a way for us to be with him.

What most Christians fail to realize is that when Jesus was on this Earth, he was fully human. His identity was God, the Son, but he was a man.

He told us that he only did what he saw the Father doing. He said he couldn’t do the works he did apart from the Father.

 

He showed us how we can live a similar life in the Kingdom. He was our blueprint for living in the Kingdom.

 

So, we can’t use the excuse “Well, Jesus was perfect! He was God so that’s why He could turn the other cheek and forgive people and things like that. I’m not Jesus so I can’t do those things.”

 

It might seem to be true, but that’s not what Jesus tells us. He says that if we believe in Him – if we put our complete trust in Him – then we will do the works that He did, and not only will we do those things – we’ll do even greater things.

 

I don’t think that’s about doing bigger and better miracles, but it’s about the principle of multiplication. Because if it were about bigger and better miracles then Peter and Paul would have flown through the air because that would have been a bigger miracle than walking on water.

 

Instead, I think that "greater things" is all about exponential possibilities. As the Body of Christ expands to cover the Earth we will accomplish things that Jesus didn’t during his earthly ministry.

Think of it like this: What do you think Jesus would be doing if he were here today? Where would he spend his time?

 

Now, let’s realize the truth: Jesus IS here today. We are His Body. We are “little Christs” (which is what the word “Christian” means). We are His ambassadors here and now.

This isn’t about us. Remember? The Gospel is about Jesus. It’s about His Glory, His Kingdom, His rule and reign, etc.

So, following Jesus is about us dying to ourselves daily. Letting go of ourselves and our rights so that His life and His plan can be accomplished in us and through us.

 

“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” (2 Corinthians 4:10)

Because Jesus was willing to let go of everything and become nothing, you and I can enter the Kingdom. Because he would rather die than live without us, we can live together forever.

-kg