A DREAM PARADISE

Jesus said, “None of those who cry out, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of God, but only the one who does the will of my father in heaven”. (Matthew 7:21)

PART I

I would personally like to thank each one of you for your prayers, concerns and support.  It is always a pleasure to know your eagerness for the Living Word.

Lord Jesus always silenced the self justifying tone of the Sadducees with a good answer; that’s when a Teacher of the Law questioned the Lord, “Which commandment is the most important of all?”

Jesus responded, “The most important one is this, ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ” (Mark 12:28-30)

Refusal to obey the Law and to turn against the will of God is sin.

Almighty God made His first covenant with mankind when He instructed Adam and Eve neither to eat nor to touch the fruit of the tree in the middle of the Garden of Eden; but satan’s entry and his cunningness succeeded in convincing them into eating the fruit—thus breaking the First Holy Law. They very consciously and casually disobeyed their Creator, only to become slaves of fear and everlasting sorrow.

When an individual walks in the trail of sin he begins to assume himself as Lord or boasts himself as being equal to the Sovereign God; evil thoughts and questions on the obligations to obey God begins to creep in. This, though, is considered as one of the greatest sins by God and He says, as He stamps His seal of Supremacy over his creation, “If you will obey Me completely by doing what I consider right and by keeping my commands, I will not punish you with any of the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians. I am the Lord, the one who heals you.” (Exodus 15:26)

Let us take notice of King David’s obedience to God. David, son of Jesse, obeyed and observed the Holy Laws with faithfulness and loyalty. He ruled over Israel for forty years and died at a ripe old age, wealthy and respected. Many of the Psalms, we recite during Praise and worship, and that bring solace in our distress were authored by him. He took keen interest and contentment in pleasing God. It was his greatest desire to build a Temple for the Covenant Box; and made preparations to begin the work but when God’s will was conveyed to him – forgetting his majesty and highness, he bowed in submission before God and accepted the Holy Will.

Soon David commanded all the officials and everyone involved in building the Temple to gather and addressed to them as, “It was my dream to build a permanent home for God, but according to the Holy will of Sovereign  Lord the authority was to be given to my son Solomon’.

David wholeheartedly instructs the officials to obey carefully everything the Lord commanded as he blissfully hands- over the plans, administration and updated his son on all the materials used.

David’s infinite love for God and the keenness to obey Him is praiseworthy and obtained ample promises. His dreams and desires did not hold a centrestage; all that mattered to David was God’s Will that had to be fulfilled.

David appreciating his son says, “You must realise that the Lord has chosen you to build His Holy Temple. Now do it—and do it with determination.”

The buzzing world and its mankind today have hardly any time to realize the crucial path its taking. Bring consciousness to any severe situation and soon we see it being smoothened by a mass of people who react thus, “Take a chill pill, man!”

Create social awareness and another set stands up, “This can wait! Let’s relax for now!”

Though you know that your little one is ill mannered and needs some tweaking, yet in order not to spoil the atmosphere of the place, you oversee your child’s error. He/ she too are unaware to realize the importance of the basic etiquettes.  

But look how King David instructs his son, “Be attentive, you have been chosen by the Lord your God.” The father points out to the young son that though he may lack in experience he should never forget, that what he would built is not a mere palace for men but a Holy Temple for the Sovereign Lord. Through these instructions King David is preparing Solomon for the task. With complete respect to God’s Will, David confidently tells his son, “Do it with determination.”

The entire chapter enlightens us on the reverence and fear of God the father passes to his son.

The ancient generations would take necessary steps to observe a virtuous life. Every family member big or small would be strictly made to follow it so that a god fearing family or generation would progress. 

Today if you and your family lack in such reverence, take an inspiration from King David to enact his virtues to obtain God’s blessings.

Let us pray that such God pleasing characters do not dissolve or abolish from our life.

Small efforts to bring back the determination and realization in our daily life can wipe out our dissatisfaction.

                                                                                                                                                                                                            (.... To be continued)

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ