When we cease to see the “where we could be, want to be, ought to be”
as an impossible goal, and hold fast to the idea that the Lord wants us to have
all things in Him; when we stop measuring ourselves against how far we have
left to go, but rather look at how far the Lord has already brought us; when we
believe in His promises for His students, His Pharisees, His people, and His
church, we can cease to be anxious, and start to be excited, looking forward
with anticipation and recognizing that the Lord makes good on His promises
daily.
With these things in mind, we can learn to love where we are on account
of where we’ve been.
Where Are We?
As a church we have a global ministry, with congregations serving the Lord
and spreading the New Church around the world. We have a strong internet
presence through advertising and through our outreach offices, where we have
a thriving correspondence program that serves people who are searching for
meaning in their lives, contemplating the mysteries of faith. We have schools
where New Church education is not a dream, but is a reality – where young
people are brought into knowledge of all things, both natural and spiritual,
through the lens of the New Church.
And it’s all because of what we have. We have the Word of the Lord and
we can read it in its fullness because we have the Heavenly Doctrines, which
open up to us the internal sense of the Word and serve as a window into the
spiritual world.
Yes, we are a small church. But we are not insignificant. We can be all
things because the Lord is with us and is invested in His New Church.
But going back 2000 years, what did Nicodemus do as a result of his inner
conflict? Wh at did he do with the contrast between his life as a Pharisee and
his potential as a disciple?
Nicodemus, working from the
Law, strove to defend Jesus and His
followers from unfair persecution and
slander, so much so that at one point a
colleague asks as an insult whether he
was a disciple of Jesus.
Later on, in what is the greatest
show of devotion that is recorded
regarding Nicodemus, he risked
everything to bury Jesus after His
crucifixion. He brought more than a
hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes for
Yes, we are a small
church. But we are not
insignificant. We can
be all things because
the Lord is with us
and is invested in
His New Church.
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