All Things

Last week when the weatherman reported, “Sunny later on today,” I said, “Yeah, right…” to myself.  It looked dark, dreary, and cold out the kitchen window as the wet wintry mix of rain and snow was falling to the ground.  I also heard myself say, “I don’t believe it” when I looked up at the bright blue sky a couple of hours later.  As I spoke those words, I was reminded how frequently I’ve spoken these words.  There have been numerous times as I’ve read Scripture that I’ve told the author, Jesus, or Our Father, “Yeah, right…” only to come back and say, “I don’t believe it” later on.

One of the passages of Scripture that I’ve repeatedly said, “Yeah, right…” to is Romans 8:28 where Paul says, “All things work for good…”  Those words were usually followed by, “What good can come out of this?”  And later, sometimes much later, I’ve exclaimed, “I don’t believe this” because of how that useless incident had come to be a valuable part of my life.  Over and over again, Paul’s words, “All things work for good…” have proven to be true in my life, but even more so after I heard what Paul said in the next verse.  Paul said, “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

From the very beginning, God had a plan for us.  Like a good Father, He wants us to grow up to be in an intimate relationship with Him.  Our Father allows all things to happen to us so that we will always be looking for and finding comfort, strength, confidence, and security (faith) in Him—so that we can become like Jesus, our big Brother.

Kingdom Speech

After giving a talk recently, someone approached Phil and said to him, “You’re from Arkansas, aren’t you?”  I think Phil was surprised, as the other person continued, “I can tell from your accent.”   I was not there, but I was surprised because I’ve known Phil for over 30 years and I’ve never noticed that he had an accent.  But then again, I am also surprised when people still tell me I have an accent even though I’ve been away from Hawaii for 40 years.

As Christians, people should recognize that “we’re not from these parts” (Philippians 3:20) by the way we talk because the language that we speak (including its accent, inflection, tone, etc.) is peculiar to The Kingdom of God.

We all know that vulgarity, idle, and foolish talk should be foreign among Kingdom People (Ephesians 5:4) along with gossiping, arguing, and complaining (Philippians 2:14).  However, there are a couple more things that are very striking in their speech.

A distinguishing trait of a citizen of the Kingdom is the way they speak to and about others.   According to Paul, what comes out of their mouths should be, “only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29).

Much of the rhetoric that we hear today produces hostility, animosity, and division.  Our Lord declared, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25).  Kingdom People are interested in building, while people who are not Subjects of the Kingdom have a tendency of tearing down.

The second noticeable quality about the speech of Kingdom People is that they are acutely aware of the King’s Presence.  They acknowledge Him in all their activities (Proverbs 3:6), because they are convinced that their lives are totally dependent on Him (James 4:15).  This is why Kingdom People’s speech make them “shine like stars in the sky” (Philippians 2:15) because we live in a society that teaches us to be independent and contend that the Universe revolves around us.

Learning new words in a different language is extremely difficult for me.  Learning the language of the Kingdom is next to impossible and it produces a lot of frustration, anger, and stress.  However, Paul refocuses my attention:

Work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.  (Philippians 2:12-13)

I am so glad and relieved that Scripture repeatedly reminds me that the emphasis is on the King.  Even the Greatest Commandment tells me that it’s all about Him.  When we put anything ahead of Him, even the Second Great Commandment, our speech becomes corrupted.  Let us continue to seek God so that our prayer and praise come from a pure heart.