“We are not at peace with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we are not at peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God.” – Thomas Merton

  

In order for Prodigo to become a peacemaker he must first make his own peace with God. He cannot help someone else find peace until he finds it for himself.

Each of these responses to the gospel of the kingdom truths must be addressed in the particular order Jesus taught them. Prodigo must not ignore one of them and jump ahead to another. Jesus taught them in this order for a reason.

Prodigo will never mourn properly unless he first realizes how bankrupt he is because of his own transgression and sin. Neither will he surrender everything about him to God’s sovereign, righteous rule without reservation or resistance unless he has first felt his spiritual poverty, mourned for his bankrupt condition, then experienced the comfort that can only come from the one crucified to save his soul. Prodigo will not hunger and thirst for the righteous way he is supposed to be if he has never felt the justification and forgiveness that only the resurrected Son of God can give to him. He will only give kindness and compassion to those around him to the degree he has personally experienced the merciful compassion of God’s love. Prodigo will not receive the pruning of God with joy and humility unless he desperately wants to be restored to the image of God. And only if he understands God and personally experiences His merciful kindness, justification, holiness, love, righteousness and the peace that comes through propitiation will he be able to see God well enough to help another transgressor/sinner find the way that makes for peace.

If Prodigo tries to shortcut his response to the gospel of the kingdom message, he will not experience the fullness of the makarios life. Neither will he be able to share with someone else how to receive peace with God if he has never felt the fullness of that peace for himself. But why would Prodigo or anyone else consider short-cutting their response? Because any transgressor/sinner will always try to take the easier road most traveled by the majority of the other sheep. It is the way of the herd.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14)

 One thing that Prodigo must also learn about the gospel of the kingdom is that these truths Jesus taught concerning how he should respond are not only the way to be restored to a harmonious relationship with God, they are also the attitudes he must continually embrace to live the makarios life. In the book of Galatians, Paul addresses this issue. The Christians in Galatia thought the best way to live the makarios life after becoming a follower of Christ was to setup a standard of rules and then work hard to obey them. Look what Paul writes to these confused Christians.

“Oh foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross. Let me ask you this one question; Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” (Galatians 3:1-3 NLT)  

 It says here that Prodigo can only live the makarios life the same way he received it – by believing what Jesus said in the gospel of the kingdom and continually responding to these truths accordingly. Not as the Galatian Christians foolishly tried to do by keeping a bunch of rules. Remember, believing is the verb of the noun faith. The action of the verb believing is seen in Prodigo’s response to the promises of God. To fully live the makarios life Prodigo must continue to be poor in spirit; mourn and be comforted by the Holy Spirit; surrender to the will of God; hunger and thirst for righteousness; extend mercy to those around him because he will often need mercy for himself; be joyful when God prunes him making every effort to know and understand God with all his heart, soul and mind; and do all he can to bring the peace of God to those transgressors/sinners he comes in contact with. The makarios life is not being saved from hell and then going about business as usual. The makarios life is moment-by-moment living through the grace, kindness and power of the Holy Spirit with the attitudes Jesus taught here. Prodigo must continually seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. If he stops he will fall. And nothing will bring that fall on quicker than an attitude that does not want to surrender to Jesus the King.  

The gospel of the kingdom not only shows the way to establish peace with God but it defines how someone is supposed to live in harmony with God while living on earth. Prodigo received the kingdom by becoming poor in spirit. The sovereign, righteous rule of God that cast out demons, healed diseases and raised people from the dead that Jesus displayed everywhere He taught the gospel of the kingdom, is now provided by God to heal Prodigo’s spiritual sickness which is a far greater challenge than giving physical sight to a man born blind.

From that moment on Prodigo needs to continually respond to these promises of Jesus exactly as Jesus says he should. That is what it means to be filled with the Spirit. It is a constant surrendering to the greatest power in the universe, a yielding of Prodigo’s desires to God’s perfect will and ways. That is why Prodigo must be merciful for he will constantly need the mercy of God himself for all the times he fails. And he will fail often.

The gospel of the kingdom Jesus preached everywhere He went is also the good news of how Prodigo can live the life he was born to live. The attitudes Jesus preached that are necessary for Prodigo to receive the kingdom life are the same attitudes necessary for him to continually live the makarios life in harmony with God. Seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness is not a one-time pursuit for Prodigo. It needs to be a lifetime of moments where Prodigo continually wants the sovereign, righteous rule of God to dominate his life in everything he does. Where he constantly wants the righteous character of Jesus to be his.

Prodigo can never distance himself from the gospel of the kingdom for it is also the gospel of life. He must maintain these attitudes continually. When he does he will live magnificently as he experiences the peace that only comes from a harmonious relationship with Jesus. When he doesn’t the makarios life will slowly fade, his joy will diminish and peace will give way to discontentment.

Justification is a one-time event declared by God as a reward for Prodigo’s faith in the gospel of the kingdom message. It is not conditional on His perfect life. It is solely the result of God’s declaration. On the other hand, the life of makarios is conditional to the degree Prodigo maintains these attitudes. Whenever he allows them to diminish, his life of makarios will do the same. He will not lose his salvation because what God has declared cannot be undone. But his harmonious relationship with God will certainly not feel the same.

“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” (Romans 8:5, 6)

 Prodigo needs to be according to the Spirit for the Holy Spirit deeply desires an intimate and harmonious relationship with God’s creation. He is not willing that any of us perish. He wants every human to experience peace with God.

The attitudes of being poor in spirit, mourning, gentleness, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, being merciful, pure in heart and a peacemaker is exactly what Prodigo needs in order to walk in the Spirit and experience life and peace. And the peace that comes from these attitudes should play a vital role in directing Prodigo’s life.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.”   (Colossians 3:15)

 The Greek word translated rule means to be an umpire; to decide, to determine; to direct, to control. Peace is God’s way of directing and controlling Prodigo’s life. How does the peace of Christ do that? When Prodigo responds to his life in any other way than what Jesus taught, the peace of God will diminish and that should be an immediate warning to Prodigo that something is wrong. This is exactly what occurred with Adam and Eve. The moment they transgressed God’s will and then sinned, their harmony with God left them. They responded in a way that showed the peace of God was no longer directing their life. Fear, dishonesty and guilt were some of the emotions they were experiencing and giving excuses for their wrong behavior were how they then responded to life. These are the ways of death not life and peace. Whenever peace is not the foundation of Prodigo’s emotions then that should be a clear sign that his mind is set on the ways of his flesh.

Prodigo’s previous life was not lived in harmony with God before he became poor in spirit. Now he begins a journey of learning to experience the makarios life through walking in the Spirit. As he does the peace of God will begin to be a constant companion to him. When peace becomes a controlling characteristic of Prodigo, the moment it lessens should be a warning signal that he should change his attitude and once again become poor in spirit, mourn for his condition and surrender in gentleness to the will and ways of God. That is how Prodigo must live in a turbulent world full of transgression and sin. And what is the attitude that will flow from Prodigo when he lives the makarios life? Just as it says in Colossians 3:15 he will be thankful, which I might add, is the will of God for Prodigo’s life.

            “in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

 Letting the peace of God direct and guide Prodigo’s life is the surest way to walk in the Spirit and experience the makarios life. This is the life that Prodigo was born to live. When he discovers this, believes it and responds accordingly to the promises Jesus gives for responding correctly to the gospel of the kingdom, Prodigo will become a peacemaker and be called a son of God. This is the greatest accomplishment he can ever achieve. To live life in such harmony with the Holy Spirit that he becomes a peacemaker for God and then is recognized as one of God’s sons.

What an amazing transformation it is to change from being absolutely destitute in regards to the image of God to becoming a peacemaker helping other transgressors/sinners establish peace with God. This is the good news of the kingdom; that God’s amazing love for His fallen creation would send His Son Jesus to be punished for all of humanity’s transgression, sin and iniquity so a broken Prodigo could become a redeemed child of God.

To be a peacemaker will truly bring the life of makarios to Prodigo. And when it does, the world will recognize that Prodigo has been born again into the family of God.

           “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are."            (1 John 3:1a)          

 

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