The Lord is here; his kingdom has come. (Part 9)

The Lord is here; his kingdom has come

Part 9: The Lord is the be all and end all

Let us explore a little more the effect of this belief that the Lord is here.

We begin with a simple conviction that, if the Lord is here then “everything is alright”. This is a ridiculous thing to say because, of course, there are so many things that are wrong. And we begin also, therefore, to explore the relationship between the two aspects that we are examining: the Lord is here, and that his kingdom has come. Yet, fundamentally, it is true: if the Lord is here then everything is alright, because the presence of the Lord is all important. If he is with me, then what do I have to fear? If you reply: disaster, torture, disgrace, death, then, though these are horrendous experiences to suffer, they are clearly being done by other people, whom the Lord does not support, because he is here, with me. If the Lord is with me, then he can bear me through all trials and tribulations. If my life is to be ended through the actions of evil people, or through natural disaster, then the Lord accompanies me through death and receives me into everlasting life. I do not belittle the agony involved in human suffering; I thank God that I have never suffered terribly; and I strongly suspect that I would collapse under the weight of suffering. However, even this does not negate that all is well and all will be well because the Lord is with me. Hence, because the Lord is here, those who believe in him are filled with an immense confidence and joy. It is a simple fact that each person is weak and vulnerable in the face of the enormously powerful forces that can blight our lives, but if you believe that the Lord is with you then you can face anything and everything because nothing is more powerful than the Lord, and nothing can snatch us from his love.