Bruderhof wrote:
> Bruderhof wrote:
>
>> Bruderhof wrote:
>>
>>> Bruderhof wrote:
>>>
>>>> The Lord Jesus is the beginning and the end regarding the kingdom
>>>> of God. Therefore, among us, it firmly and with certainty is said,
>>>> "The Savior is coming again!" He must complete the work; and we
>>>> have only to be his servants until he comes again. As servants, we
>>>> must serve him, the Coming One.
>>>>
>>>
>>> At the same time, we should be a prefiguring of the future of Jesus
>>> Christ on earth. We should not be so much concerned with ourselves;
>>> nor should we struggle so hard, as though we were the ones to bring
>>> the good to its perfection on earth. We cannot do that. That can be
>>> done only by the Lord Jesus, who has come the first time and is
>>> coming again a second time.
>>>
>>
>> He will complete the work; we will not. We must lock this knowledge
>> in our hearts; it must be true and firm whenever we preach the
>> gospel. Our way must always be lighted by this star, "He is coming
>> again!" And if our minds are directed toward the coming of the
>> Savior, this puts the entire gospel into its true perspective. The
>> gospel will become something personal and living when we firmly and
>> faithfully focus upon the words, "He is indeed coming again!" When we
>> fail to do that, then we are separating the gospel from his person.
>> Then, no matter how much we talk or what great speeches we make about
>> it, we are nevertheless separating him from the gospel. Without his
>> personal presence, not a word of the gospel has real or profound
>> value.
>>
>> And so we must be directed toward that future coming of Jesus Christ
>> which is not only something of the future but also of the present, in
>> that he right now is awaited in our hearts...
>>
>
> We are living in a time of death; and we don’t want to hide that from
> ourselves. Our powers become weak; our ideas lose their strength, and
> our feelings do also. Even though they be alive for the moment, with
> time they are lost. The law of death surrounds everything, all we do
> and think and feel. But now a law of life comes into this world of
> death. It is actually the Lord Jesus himself, the one who is eternal
> life, who is arisen from the dead, who links us to the other world,
> who brings us the Spirit of God that, in the midst of our dying life,
> again and again we might receive something fresh and living through
> his gift, through his presence, through his coming.
>
We are not to think of his coming only as an appearance at the end of
days. Rather, we must at all times have an awareness of the coming
Savior. Each of us should continually have that in mind, even in times of
darkness, in times of depression, in times of poverty, in times of
sickness, in times of trouble, and in times of work with the things of
earth.
--
Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt
www.blumhardts.com
|
