Getting to Know Him - Third in a Series
About Face! - Matthew 4:11-17
Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matt.4:17)
In Rudyard Kipling’s “Jungle Book,” Mowgli, the boy being raised by animals, has just joined a parade of elephants. He entered the parade at the rear and is genuinely enjoying himself; but he has somehow missed the leader, Colonel Hathi’s, order, “About face!”
A young elephant friend quickly tells Mowgli, “Turn around. Go the other way, or you will be trampled.” Matthew tells us Jesus began to preach. His message was “Repent! Turn around! Go the other way!” Why? Because “the Kingdom of heaven is near.”
The picture I get is of people surrounded by the place where they want to go but not realizing it. Instead of entering the Kingdom, they are leaving it. (One can only walk halfway into a kingdom for then you will be walking out of it.) Our universe is the kingdom. Our universe is not the whole kingdom, but it is the front end of it. From the very beginning, God created it for us. Much like one prepares for company, God spent six “working days” preparing this world, this universe for us. On the seventh day, God thought, “Everything is ready; let us invite the people---the humans.”
One need not be a rocket scientist to understand such a beautiful invitation. Having been given the freedom to do right or wrong, humankind arrived in the kingdom self-centered and mistrusting. They reasoned, “Why would anyone do this? God must have some trick up His sleeve.” Egged on by a fallen angel (God alone knows where he came from), humankind became more and more suspicious of God’s goodness.
They increasingly neglected God and abused the kingdom. At first, God was so disappointed He ushered His first guests out personally. Since that day, God has allowed many visitors into the kingdom. As they enjoy God’s world, He heartbrokenly shouts, “Repent. Turn around; you are going the wrong way. About face!”
Two kingdom hunters are walking around together. One says, “There He goes again telling us to turn around. God never gives up.”
“He sounds pained like He’s in anguish!”
“Oh, yes. He is calling from a cross.”
