From 1999 to 2003, my son, Drew, was at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, getting a degree, while finding a wife. We rejoiced at his accomplishment of a degree for a day or two. We have rejoiced in his finding a wife daily for over twenty years. We were pleased with the first and thrilled with the second.
While Drew was a student, his life underwent a dramatic transformation toward the Kingdom. Among the people and books God put in his life was one book that so challenged him that he told me about it with great excitement. I ordered the book, and before I had read ten pages, I understood the book’s impact. The book is “The Complete Green Letters,” written by Miles Stanford.
Similarly, three years ago, I became acquainted with “The Bible Project.” Their animations and podcast have significantly increased my hunger for a life saturated with the Word of God, the Bible. Not just becoming familiar with what the Bible says, but to be a container of its Truth. I wanted, and still want, my worldview to be fundamentally transformed so that I can see my life in the world in a way that pleases God.
At the center of that overarching desire is the desire to understand Jesus’ teaching contained in what we call “The Sermon on the Mount.” For my personal study time, I have focused on reading the sermon daily and the Gospel of Matthew on a weekly basis. Rest assured, “desire” does not result in that happening without fail. It happens with many failures. But the desire continues to burn bright.
A couple of weeks ago, those two life chapters merged into a focused pursuit for a more profound impact of Jesus’ words, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matthew 4:17, CSB)
From the Green Letters, I learned that our lives have two orientations, our “condition” and our “position.” In the briefest way possible, I would like to relay my understanding as follows: “condition” refers to how I perceive my life is going, and “position” relates to my relationship with God in this world.
In my understanding of the Divine/Human story in the Bible, there are only two conditions in which we live: pre-Fall (from Genesis 1-3) and post-Fall (from Genesis 4 to Revelation 22). Because of the grace of God injected into our human dilemma through Jesus, God has given us an invitation to change our position. We have the option to choose to live from His directives at creation. That change of condition is a result of our changing our Position. As a follower of Jesus, I have moved from living in the death position of the world to a life position in Jesus Christ. That essentially means walking with Him and tending His creation, while He uses us to expand the borders of the Garden established in Eden to encompass all creation. (Genesis 1:28) “God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”
This is where the label on my milk jug comes to mind. My milk label says the milk is pasteurized and homogenized. (A brief shoutout to Louis for making my milk safe to drink.) The homogenization of milk came to mind as I pondered Jesus’ words. Humans were created to be a homogenous unit with God.
According to Meriam-Webster, the first definition of homogenize is, “to blend (diverse elements) into a mixture that is the same throughout.” For me, that means that the movement of the Creator and what He created are impossible to separate. God’s purpose and my purpose are totally intertwined. That does not mean that humans are equal to God. It means we are inseparable from what God desires to do to demonstrate his glory.
Laying that template over Jesus’ announcement that “the Kingdom of heaven is near,” this is what I see.
Inside the Garden of Eden – Position and Condition are homogenized.
Outside the Garden – Condition trumps Position, they are heterogenized.
Salvation – Position trumps Condition – In the Kingdom of God, while in the [world] World.
Resurrection – Position and Condition are re-homogenized.
The better I allow the Holy Spirit to homogenize my life with His, the more peace and joy will be manifested in and from me.
The Kingdom of heaven is only a life decision away!
Baldwin Heirlooms 
Fred, in keeping with your goal of daily study of the Sermon on the Mount, you may be someone who would appreciate a book recently written by a close friend of mine – Susan R. Pitchford. “Why Are the Poor in Spirit ‘Blessed’?” Tremendous resource going back to ancient church history and continuing forward. Well researched and beautifully written.
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