We know how we are to be recognized as Jesus' followers - "By this everyone will know that you are MY disciples, if you have AGAPE for one another." John 13:35
As it turns out, that is also how we will recognize God when God comes to us.
It is in the loving gesture that this God of the intimate sharing of bread is known.
It is in the breaking and blessing with loved ones that we recognize God.
It is in the gathering of people and sharing Grace and Peace, and in the sharing of the Good News in the intimacy of Agape that our hearts burn within us.
It is in our midst, collectively that God is known.
"The Kingdom of God is among/within YOU." Luke 17:21 It is not "out there", but in our midst as we gather. And the "you" is plural. The Kingdom is lived in community. It is not about heaven, out there somewhere, but about living in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, here and now. It is not about "me and Jesus", but about the body of Christ, gathered in His name and living His Good News of Agape and Grace in the world.
We recognize God with one another. We experience God in community. The miracle of life after death is the miracle of the sharing of Good News even in the midst of death, of finding life in spite of death. What is raised is our spiritual humanity as we gather with one another around the values of the Kingdom of God, taught, commanded and modeled by Jesus. When we gather together as people who "hear His words and act on them." (Luke 7:46, 47) We are His disciples when we collectively live His commands in the world.
As we walk the post-resurrection road, on our way to where we are led in life, it is in the intimate gathering, the sharing, the blessing and the Good News within community that we recognize Jesus. If we are waiting for the trumpets and lights in the clouds, we are going to miss how Jesus is in our midst here and now. The miracle, the epiphany, the theophany, the immanence of God is found in community as we live the Agape that Jesus taught, commanded and modeled for His followers to live in this part of God's Kingdom, here and now. THAT is how we recognize God.
Pastor Jamie
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