Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe in the gospel’ (Mark 1:14-15).
“The time is fulfilled” said Jesus. What time? Is it time for humanity to take inventory of what each person has done with his or her life and make corrections according to divine expectations? Yes, the time is now. In fact, it is the eternal now. The message has not changed simply because God does not change. Isaiah says so to Israel. Here is what the prophets said:
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god’ (Isaiah 44:6).
Beginning with the covenant God made with Abraham and all the way down through the centuries to Moses, the prophets and Jesus, the message has been the same.
As revealed by the prophets and Jesus, God’s expectations have been two-fold. God wants to be recognized and loved as the Creator, Savior and Sustainer of the universe and humans to live in harmony with each other.
The first commandment affirms the first part, as Moses declared to Israel:
God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me’ (Exodus 17:1).
This commandment was further explained to Israel by Moses with the following words:
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
When Jesus was pressed by an inquirer about naming the first commandment, he quoted the above passage. Then he added:
And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Where is Jesus quoting from? Jesus is quoting from Leviticus 19:18 where Moses expressed the command of the Lord:
You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
To summarize, Jesus said:
On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets (see Matthew 22:36-40).
Discussion
The response of the people of God through time to this day has been ambivalent. Few have taken the message at heart conforming to God’s expectations. Sadly, the majority of believers have failed to be faithful to their verbal commitment.
This divine rejection weakened Israel and ultimately made the nation to become subservient to the world power controlling at the moment. Finally, Israel lost it all, and the people were scattered throughout the nations of the world only to be expelled by these countries having robbed them of their wealth, even their lives as the Nazis did during World War II.
The prophets stated that God would punish Israel for their disobedience. Did God send catastrophe their way for not loving and following Him? How can a loving God who treated Israel as a special people would do such a thing? A better way to understand this dilemma would be with an analogy.
A new family had a male baby. As the boy grew up, the parents cared diligently for his wellbeing, but he was not affectionate towards the parents. The child became an adult and began to disregard the values taught by his parents. Ultimately the boy rejected these values altogether embracing a corrupt system. Since the boy opted for this behavior, the parents decided to withdraw from intervening in the life of the boy. As the boy continued to follow his chosen path, his actions led him to have the most evil conduct, which finally led to his own destruction.
Should Israel blame God for their misfortunes? God wanted to be a loving father. The people rejected the offer. So, God withdrew, just like in the analogy. Whose fault is it for the sufferings of Israel?
The church has not done any better than Israel. Church relations with God and others have been increasingly bad. The church has two thousand years of misbehavior. Today, one only has to read the newspapers or listen to the mass media to become informed of what many so-called Christian leaders and laity are doing. Should Christians complain to God for their misfortunes? Is there a difference between the behavior of Jews and Christians? “The wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:25) tells Paul to the church in Rome. Nothing new here, actions have consequences.
Reflections
Rather than assessing blame on people and conditions, it would be best to spend time on personal reflection of commitment. Jesus reminds us that "the kingdom of God is at hand." Answering a question about the coming of the kingdom of God, Jesus said that the kingdom of God is not an observable event. Rather, he said the kingdom of God is a presence in the believers’ lives (see Luke 17:20-21). Paul repeatedly tells a group of believers that each believer’s life is inhabited by the Spirit of God (see 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; II Corinthians 6: 16).
“Repent, and believe in the gospel [good news from God]” said Jesus. What are these good news? Let me make three simple statements about what the good news are according to Scripture quoted by Jesus:
God is Creator of it all God loves His creation God wants Creation reconciliation
God is Creator of it all:
Speaking of religion with a woman in Samaria, Jesus told her that anyone becoming religious must begin by believing in the existence and unity of God (see John 4). We first encounter God through His revelation to Abram in Mesopotamia, present southern Iraq. Then, He revealed Himself to Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, the prophets and Jesus.
Many religious people do not believe in the existence of God. Their practice of religion is limited to participating in various rituals having nothing to do with recognizing the presence of God and offering thanksgiving for His blessings.These rituals are social in nature. Their values are not anchored in the existence of a Creator to Whom they owe a measure of gratitude. Rather, their standards are pragmatic. Their response to life is self-centered . They exhibit a degree of kindness, decency and harmonious relations toward others because of expediency. It is convenient for them to get along with others.
What does recognizing the existence of God mean? It begins with awareness that the cosmos was created. Orvil W. Reid puts it this way in a beautiful poem:
The material wonders of the vast creation have only one logical explanation: who studies nature to its depths must find convincing proof of a great master mind. In nature there is purpose, order, design that never could spring from mere chance that is blind. I think, I reason and I am conscious of self; And my mental powers are my greatest wealth. Not once has chance written a book do we find; Much less could chance fashion a great author’s mind.
The first step toward believing in the existence of God is the wonder and awe of creation. The person unable to appreciate and understand the intricacies and details of the cosmos will have a hard time attempting to believe, for believe according to the author of the book of Hebrews is: “The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is unquestionable certainty of unseen realities. God is real, as it is my brother, who lives in Florida. But I cannot demonstrate to you God’s existence as I can the existence of my brother. Does this make God any less real than my brother? Absolutely not, both are real.
Read the Book of Psalms, a collection of 150 poems you will find in the middle of the Bible. These poems talk about the existence of God and the kind of relations He would love having with each individual human being.
Here is a sample:
O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes, to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the sea. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Psalms 8
If the reader stops after every line to think and meditate about the majesty of the Creator, his or her sense of awe and admiration expands. A desire to seek further into the magnificence and splendor of God seizes the person, motivating him or her to read more. This, in turn, generates a greater sense for the magnificent. As the person reads on, a great feeling of belonging in the realm of the divine grasps the person, resulting in developing intimacy with the Lord.
A psalm giving you plenty of reasons for worshipping and praising God, along with many other sacred poems, is 145. This psalm contains 45 versus. Let me give you a taste of it, as the poet introduces his theme giving an invitation to praise God in versus 1-6:
O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him,
tell of all his wonderful works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his presence continually! Remember the wonderful works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered, O offspring of Abraham his servant, sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
The rest of the poem (versus 7-45) gives you reasons for praising God. The poem is historical in nature. It is also a teaching instrument giving information on the deeds of God. It motivates loyalty to Him. And it inspires to face the future with complete confidence.
God loves His creation
The following early passage of the Book of Genesis illustrates God’s affectionate intentions in creating humanity:
God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth’ (Genesis 2:27-28).
Why did God create a being in His image? The image of God includes intelligence, emotions, morality and spirituality. Humans have identical characteristics. These similarities allow God and humans to enjoy a father-son or daughter affectionate relationship.
According to the following passage, at first God had that type of fellowship with His children:
[The first couple] heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. [Then,] the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" (Genesis 3:8-9).
Does this scene sound familiar. Having done something wrong, boy and girl hide from father for fear of his punishment.This picture presupposes affection. No one cares to seek out children of other families to punish them for misbehavior. But the father always cares for his children and corrects them. Such is what God does in this passage, as the narrative continues.
The image of God in the Garden together with man and woman is the second indicator of the especial love of God for humanity. The first indicator, of course, is God making humans in His own character image. Then, follows the saga of human sin [deviation from God’s expectations] and God’s redeeming love for them, reaching us to this day.
Sad as the human story of negating God’s normative system and the perennial human aggressive conduct against one another, God continues to love us just as He loved us when He made us. Following the incident registered in Genesis 3, the Bible offers a long account of sin, suffering and salvation going on to this day.
God wants creation reconciliation
Reconciliation with God is the main thrust of Christianity. The entire New Testament was written based on the message of the Old. The New Testament is a reminder to folks of that message. It should be understood that the terms “old” and “new” refers to time not to content. As I already indicated, God is eternal and so is His message. God wants all to proceed to repenting and be reconciled to Him just as a human father would love to be reconciled with an alienated son.
The popularly quoted parable of Jesus, the story of the prodigal son recorded in Luke 15 makes the point clear. In fact, the parable has been a theme for dramatic presentations on stage through time. The theme has been used in musicals, ballet and motion pictures. Famous painters such as Batoni, von Honthorst, Rembrandt and others have put to canvas the image of the returning son embracing the father.
The parable goes like this: A son of a wealthy family goes to his father and asks for his inheritance. The father complies with the request and gives his son a large sum of money. The son goes away to a far land. There, the son spends all his money in misbehavior. Then, the boy comes to his senses and decides to return home, asks his father for forgiveness and be reconciled to him. And the father receives the son with opened arms, embraces him, puts a ring on his finger and a fine robe over his shoulders and makes a party to celebrate and honor the return home of the lost son.
The reconciliation message is clear:
1. The Kingdom of God is here 2. Repent of your rebelliousness 3. Believe the good news from God 4. Be received and restored by the Lord