Wednesday, November 9, 2016-

Luke 9:27  "But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."  (New King James Version of the Bible)

And now for a blog entry that has nothing to do with politics. 

Jesus, shortly after He said this, took Peter, James and John to the top of a mountain to pray and there was transfigured before them.  His appearance was altered, made bright and the disciples saw Elijah (representing the Prophets) and Moses (representing the Law) in consultation with Jesus.  Their presence affirmed that that the mission of Jesus supported the Law and the Prophets, and vice versa.  I have wondered, however, how the disciples were able to recognize Elijah and Moses?  Still, this episode strikes a nerve with me because I want, in both my private devotions and in the public worship of the church I serve, to experience the Kingdom of God. 

If the assertion that some would not taste death before they saw the kingdom of God was fulfilled in the Transfiguration, then could we consider that the kingdom of God involved the Presence of God with power and the gifts of the Holy Spirit, including visions?  If we experienced the Kingdom of God in some fashion in our lives, would it not also possibly involve the same power and gifts involved with the Presence of God, if not an actual vision just like the one the disciples encountered on that fateful day?  I don't want to overstate my desire here and be overly enamored with "experiences" but I yearn to meet with God when I pray, and when we worship on Sunday.  I want people to walk away from worship feeling like they have, in a profound way, truly met with God.  But then I noticed the subject of the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah.

It's interesting to note that the topic of discussion between Jesus, Elijah and Moses was Jesus' death in Jerusalem, literally His "exodus".  The vision, power and Presence sounds wonderful, but the topic was death.  Am I ready to face death for the Presence of God in the here and now?  How far have I gone in dying to self?  In an attempt to gauge "death to selfishness" I considered the places where my mind will wander.  All those times I dreamt of "what if I had done this with my life?"  I've wondered what would have happened if I had made one or more different choices?  Are they not all self serving?  Are they not all attempts to glorify self?  

Imagination can be a good thing, but I need to face life as it is right now and die to self-serving wishful thinking.  That is one small part of dying to self.  Perhaps my next step to a deeper spiritual life, a deeper experience of the Kingdom of God, is to meditate and pray about death to self.  How far have I gone with this?  I suspect that I have a long way to go.