Greater Things ... Connected

One of the many things that gets lost in modern Christianity is a very real and expected connection to the supernatural world.  We sing about it (When We All Get To Heaven, I Want Jesus to Walk With Me, etc.) and we say we believe in it, but when it comes to daily life, we either 1) place it in the future, or 2) consider it an idea vs reality.  Jesus speaks to this early in His ministry as he calls the 1st disciples in John 1.  ""You will see greater things than that" and then added "Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man (John 1:50-51).""  This is a rather strange saying, that can be interpreted in many ways.  Today I am going to stick to just one.

The first thing Jesus addresses involves what was said earlier in John.  John is clear that the Word (Jesus) has become flesh and is physically present.  God, in the person of Jesus, is what He said He would be ... Emmanuel, God with us.  God has connected with people by coming in the womb of a virgin.  God has connected with us as He asks Jesus to live out a human life ... all of it!  This is a supernatural event so that God can connect directly to His creation for the purpose of redeeming it!

The second thing Jesus addresses is the connection between the Elohim (the created realm of angels and the divine counsel) and the Creation (the things spoken about in Genesis 1 and 2).  We ignore the Elohim, and consign it to movies and books.  Jesus tells us it is both real and connected to earth.

The third thing Jesus tells us is that what we see and experience in this realm isn't the be-all-end-all.  Jesus has greater things for us to see, and those things are closer than we think.  

Let's play out a few things that are evidence for what I said above.  How about our prayer ... "On earth as it is in heaven?"  Isn't that Jesus telling us these two things are both connected?  Heaven is not some land that is "over yonder" ... it is close.  In this statement from John 1, Jesus reminds us that both heaven and earth are close, and that He has the power to open heaven to us.  All of Biblical history tells us that these two realms intersect, overlap, and are connected.

On Sunday evening of next week, the second Annual Conference of the Alabama Emerald Coast Conference of the Global Methodist Church will begin.  The Conference theme is Greater Things.  So here is my challenge ... how will your service to Jesus "open the heavens" and allow God to show Greater Things through you and your church?  Do you want to read about angels, or do you want to invite them?  Do you believe what John the Baptist said ... "The Kingdom of Heaven is near?"  Do you believe in only what you see, or do you look past the seen and grasp the God that is over the seen, the unseen, and the entirety of creation?