The teaching that Jesus
was in some way hostile to the traditions of his people is erroneous. Jesus had
sacrificed all to focus on and highlight certain essential spiritual truth. The
first and foremost of these truths was to relate to each person the experience
of knowing God – ‘You that have seen me have seen the Father’; and secondly to
relate the concept-idea and, more importantly, to somehow facilitate the
conscious realisation of the experience of knowing, personally, that ‘God is
your Father.’ Indeed, he asked that when we speak to God we should call him
‘Abba.’
While this is something
I had read countless times, I never really appreciated its spiritual value
until one fine day as I sat by a swimming pool in Israel. I remember children
were playing and splashing, as parents soaked in the warm rays of the
Mediterranean sun. At one point a little girl came screeching passed, being
chased by her brother; as she ran she shouted excitedly, ‘Abba, Abba, Abba!’
managing, at last, to leap into the
safety of her father’s arms, where she wriggled in gleeful delight that she had
escaped the clutches of her villainous brother. That single moment illuminated,
for me, more of Jesus’ spiritual intent than one hundred scholarly works ever
did.
Jesus invites us to
share in this consciousness of the Fatherhood of God, that is the Kin-dom; that sense of sure safety; the open and
welcome arms and the courage those arms and that relationship instils. Jesus
asked that we endeavour to be possessed of childlike faith; that we be willing
to take that faith leap into the loving arms of our waiting spiritual Father
and, through that faith discover for ourselves and within ourselves the
experience of spiritual assurance that communicates to your soul that abiding
peace which surpasses all understanding; that sense that no real harm can ever
befall you; that you have been found by the Father and that he will never let
you go; that you are fully and finally secure in his arms and free from fear.
Liberty indeed!
Jesus said, ‘I leave
you peace; my peace I give you.’ The people of the world are limited in what
and how much they can give to others but the peace that Jesus gives is limited
only by your capacity to receive. Thus, as you grow in grace and wisdom, as the
rivers of faith and love flow through the chambers of your heart it is by this
spiritual force that those very chambers are widened so that you can receive
more and your life is blessed with spiritual abundance.
Having found the
Kin-dom, it is only natural to want to share the joy born of that sense of
safety and security. Knowing such joy you will naturally and freely reach out
to your fellows, especially those that are harassed by fear and lost in
spiritual darkness. You will never want to add to their burden of troubles and
endeavour always to increase their quotient of happiness. This tender and
passionate love for one’s fellows and the service it inspires authenticates the
truth that you have found the Kin-dom and have truly entered therein. This is
the love that declares to all the world that you are a disciple of the Master,
that you are a faith filled, love inspired child of God, that knows – without a
shadow of a doubt – that when you call ‘Abba!’ your cry is heard and responded
to instantly.