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PREFACE
The Lord Jesus Christ said to the Jews, 'And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.' Jn.5:37. In this book, we are trying to convey the beauty of God in the revelation of Jesus Christ. I do not have accuracy, precision or exactitude of these things, but just as words are symbols and signs of something greater, we are trying to give form and shape to something beyond our grasp, something beyond our understanding, even the infinite and eternal. Thus we are using metaphors, similes, imagery, hypotheses and theories to convey the beauty of this God who brought us into being and revealed himself to us in Jesus Christ through the gospel entrusted to the church.
The approach I
am using is meant to enlighten us so as to experience the love of God in the
beauty of intimacy, to stir a response of gratefulness from our hearts to this
Almighty One who has shown us so much love we are left speechless. The Lord
showed me these realities in the form I am writing. God is unsearchable and
past-finding-out. To one he reveals himself as such, to another he reveals
himself as such. He takes the form of the creation in Genesis and in the Gospel
we see him as a man. He created the waters, the air, the sun, the earth and we
can see him in all the things he has created. And he revealed himself in the
Son of God Jesus Christ our Lord.
'Jesus said
unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet have thou not known me,
Philip? He that has seen me has seen the Father; and how say you then, show us
the Father? Believe thou not that I am in the Father; and the Father in me? The
words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwells
in me, he does the works. Believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me.' Jn. 14:9-11.
In his
prologue, the Beloved John says that no man has seen God at any time. The Only
Begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him. Though we
have not seen the shape of God, the Lord Jesus says he that has seen him has
seen the Father. Christ came to declare the Father, to give us an understanding
of the true God - that God is the Father of the Son. This revelation was given for
our sake, that we should know that God is our Father because we are in the Son
of God.
No man can say
with exactitude how God looks. The Lord Jesus said we have not seen his shape.
And when Christ rose from the dead, he appeared to his disciples in another
form. Why was it hard for some to believe even when the Risen Lord came to
them? It is because he was in another form; though human yet a form they hadn’t
seen before, like when he was transfigured before the three apostles on the
mountain.
Peter says, 'For
we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his
majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came
such a voice to him from the excellent glory, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased.' And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were
with him in the holy mount.' 2 Peter 1:16-18.
These things
that I write are from my communion with the Lord; how he has revealed himself
to this specific person - me. We are saying that he is being specific for the
benefits of the whole; he chooses one to bless all. He made us many to reveal
himself in each for the edifying of all. That is how diversity is beauty - yet
diversity in truth and love. The Lord shared his glory with us. He shared his happiness
with us by calling us onto vocation. Our vocation is to be the sons of God. We
know this in the gospel, which is the revelation of Jesus Christ. These things
were already true in God, but mankind didn’t know it. It is the gospel that
brings them to light, even life and immortality.
We used to be
beings, conscious, aware of the creation, even like children. But it pleased
God to make himself known to us by revealing what was already true about us.
Pays says, 'It pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called
me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the
heathen.' Gal. 1:15-16. The Lord did this so that we might share in his
happiness, in what he is doing; so that we might benefit from his blessedness.
It is in the gospel that we know this and become participants and collaborators
with God.
The revelation
of God is for our benefits. He revealed himself by creating the world, and we
benefitted in that he brought us into being. He revealed himself in the
Incarnation and we benefitted in that he saved us from sin, death, hell and the
grave. He revealed himself in the Resurrection and we benefitted in that we are
born of God, and now are the sons of God. He revealed himself in giving us the
Holy Spirit and we benefitted in that we are the church of Jesus Christ who
collaborate with him to advance his kingdom on earth. We share in his happiness
to be the sons of God, to have intimacy with him, to be included in the church,
to have fellowship with one another, to see humanity awakened to the reality of
the kingdom, and to see the world transformed into beauty, purity and liberty.
The Lord revealed himself to me by conceiving
me in his heart in eternity, and making me a being through my existence, and through
being born of God in the Resurrection of Christ. He revealed himself to me
through being born into the world through my parents Raphael and Helene. He
revealed himself to me through my siblings, brethren, relatives, neighbours, the
church, humanity and the entire creation. I received what he revealed in me, even
his happiness, which he shared with me, in that I lived and enjoyed these
things, which also I processed, and I responded to him. One of my various
responses is what I am sharing in this book.
I am a fan of
the superheroes, and I write about them in my other books Another Dimension & Other
Dimensions. The cartoons have influenced the way I commune with the Lord
and how I see the world. I have always tended to see the world in the cosmos, in
the universe, in the immensity, in the expanse, in outer space, and that since
childhood. This is also how I have related with the Lord. I have always desired
to see a pristine earth, a place like the cartoon Denver, The Last Dinosaur where though a modern city, every place
is beautiful, pure, clean with the best people on earth.
I wrote it in Another Dimension and the last book speaks
of the world as I see it when everything has been transformed into good. Even
so, the Holy Spirit makes me understand that God is bigger than my imagination,
and that he is more beautiful than my wildest dreams. And this is how I am
excited, and I write these things with metaphors and similes and, though not
the exact form, yet given that the result, the outcome, the objective is to
portray the goodness of God in a dimension to magnify him to the utmost, 'And
when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far
from the kingdom of God.' Mark 12:34.
When we say
these things in love, when our goal is to see humanity walk in the light, when
we desire the world to be transformed into beauty, when the Spirit groans in
our heart to heal the earth and make it a paradise for you and for me, when we
desire to change the world into life, light, purity, beauty, abundance,
prosperity, freedom, liberty, happiness for one and all, for all and sundry,
even for the least among us, when we desire this in love, mercy, truth, grace
and righteousness, though we have used symbols, language, metaphors, imagery,
hypotheses and theories, we would not be far from the kingdom of God.
This book is
meant to change our perspective as to how we used to see the world, so that we
should see people as God sees them. It is meant at enlightening us to the
principles of the kingdom of God, which Jesus Christ inaugurated in the
fullness of times when he became man. He taught us the kingdom on multiple
occasions, and what is pertinent in his teachings is that the kingdom of God
shall not be as the kingdoms of this world. What the world has upheld, what the
world takes pride in, what is practised in the kingdom of men, it shall not be
so in the church. Union, oneness, the beatitudes, giving, sharing, mercy,
righteousness, peace, joy, love and grace are the principles of the kingdom. In
fact, the peace the world seeks, which seems to elude us each time, is in the
teachings the Lord Jesus taught on the kingdom of God. If humanity would draw
from that wisdom, if they would practice those sayings, we wouldn’t be far from
world peace.
This book is my
contribution to world peace. I am so grateful to share it with you. I am happy
you are willing to read my perspective, the reason also why we are many - one
writes, another reads, thus I am happy you read what I wrote and you are happy
I shared this with you. Happiness is in our intimacy with God and with each
other. Material things will not bring happiness, except there are people to
share with whether our spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends,
neighbours, colleagues and humanity as a whole. To attain that world peace that
is spoken of in this book, it needs more than individual people. Each of us has
a desire to change the world, but we are powerless as individuals. It needs the
commitment of institutions, the government, the systems, the multinationals,
organizations and influential people to bring about world peace. It requires a
conscious, willing, deliberate participation of these structures to transform
the world into beauty and gladness for each and every single person on planet
earth.
Although I am
using Christian terms, I am aware there are people who speak these same things
in other terms. We are using different vocabulary and languages yet we mean one
thing – the salvation of humanity. I acknowledge spirituals all across the
earth, those who in their heart of hearts seek the salvation of the entire
human race, irrespective of our background, status, colour, location, epoch,
beliefs.
My parents introduced
me into Christianity and I came to know God from the Christian perspective.
Since childhood, it is God revealed to me in Jesus Christ that I worship. I
grew to know him and love him as I heard the gospel. I became acquainted with
the gospel and I communed with this God through his Son by the Spirit. This is
the God I know and with whom I have intimacy on this earth. I have grown with
people from other religious background, and though I am acquainted with the
outer form of their belief, I don’t know the intimacy of their devotion.
These people
are more advanced in living the community I speak of in this book. Though we do
not have the same devotion, nothing has ever stopped us from communing
together. In fact, as a child before the mind was developed, I prayed together
with them. They are my friends and neighbours and the renters of our house. I
buy food from them, we exchange together and much more.
Thus I saw that
these people and I shared one humanity and the only difference among us is that
our beliefs differ. Yet what is belief compared to existence, livelihood,
community, salvation? These people are the same humanity as me though some are
from other countries and background and status. When there are people among
them who also speak of the salvation of mankind irrespective of the determinism
we have acquired in this world, I know we are speaking the same language though
different vocabulary. It is evident that God who made me is the same who made
them. These people have been kind to me and have been of service to me despite
our various beliefs.
We do not draw
a demarcation among humanity based on any external difference; we do not judge
any man according to the flesh. But we honour the Christ in all men even if the
people might not know it. By the grace of God, we have known it, and Christ has
revealed to us that he is the God who made of the two one in his body, thereby
eliminated the enmity. We see as the Lord sees and we act as Jesus acts. He
came and preached oneness of all humanity in his one body. Is the Body of
Christ divided? No. Therefore, humanity is not divided, but one body in Christ.
Paul says, 'For
the love of Christ constrains us because we thus judge, that if one died for
all, then were all dead. And he died for all, that they who live should not
henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose
again. Henceforth know we no man after the flesh: though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
things are become new. And all things are of God.' 2 Cor. 5:14-18.
I have communed
with the Lord since childhood, and what I desired was that he saves the world.
I wanted evil to be wiped out so that no man should suffer, and that nature should
be benevolent towards all. By my own strength, I couldn’t bring about this
outcome, and I cried for years on seeing the misery in the world. Then I became
conscious of the gospel, which says the Lord Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the
World. Although I had worshipped him because my parents introduced me to the
faith, now I believe him because he is the one who saves the world. That is
what is pertinent to me about Christ. What I have been saying in my intimacy
with him over the years is that he should save the world, that is, all men. I
believe in Jesus Christ because he is the Saviour of the World.
Certes, I first believed in him so that he should save me. Then as we walked
together, this one also came. I believe in Jesus Christ because I want him to
save my family, my siblings, my relatives, my friends, my neighbours, and the
entire humanity. This is what I can give if anyone asked me a reason for the
hope that is in me. I believe in Jesus Christ because he is the Saviour of
World. Over the years, he showed me what this salvation is. This salvation
includes every man in the Body of Christ so that all men live by the one life
which quickens the body of Jesus. I couldn’t be gladder. This was beyond me; I
couldn’t have fathomed this, but I dare to believe it because I know that the
Lord is good and his mercy endures forever. My wildest dream has come true in
him – all humanity saved in the Body of Christ. This is what I wanted.
Yet the Lord is
bigger than my wildest dreams. He showed me things beyond my imagination, and
his Spirit testifies in my heart that there is more in God than I have seen, than
I have known. I have had a glimpse of his beauty in him saving the entire
humanity together, in him eliminating evil from earth, in him raising the dead
unto life, in him transforming the world into purity. But there is much more
beauty in God than what I have known - the angels, the colossal beings, the
cloud of witnesses, the new tastes and sounds, the new things that shall be
revealed, which are all for our enjoyment. So I rejoice with joy unspeakable,
and so I laugh, and so I celebrate. The goodness of the Lord has brought me to
my knees. Even beyond my craziest imagination, God is good.
It is this
goodness that I want to communicate in this book so that you also may see and
rejoice with me and all of creation together. For you also have seen that the
goodness of the Lord has exceeded your wildest dreams.
*
We must learn to live together. We
were made many so that we may interrelate with each other for it is in living
together that we find happiness. We are not excluding ourselves from people,
but we are creating peace wherever we are. We won’t say these people are bad,
and I want nothing to do with them. These also are humanity and we have been
placed together to acquire the wisdom to live beyond the wiles of the mind, to
learn the beatitudes, to be enlightened for that is what every man is called to
- community. Our happiness is in the people we are living with and when we
create friendship, we will see how good and pleasant it is for brethren to live
together in unity. We will solve every difference among us so that there is
harmony, so that we understand each other. But we are not walking away from
people till kingdom come.
Until we have
learned to respect one another, until we have learned to share our surplus,
until we have opened the borders, until we no more lift an arm against each
other, until we have stopped to accuse, despise, envy, strive, offend, be
offended, backbite, steal, tell lies. Until the captives are set free, until
the wars have ceased, until all men are fed, clothed, housed, until everyone
travels wherever they want, until all enjoy luxury, abundance intimacy, until mercy,
love peace and grace resonate in the heart of each other, until the creation is
transformed into purity and beauty, until the will of the Father is done on
earth as it is in heaven.
After this manner pray ye: Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as
it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10.