Luke 19:11 11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. ESV
The second stanza of Amazing Grace has the line, How precious did that grace appear, the hour I first believed. I’m not so sure grace appeared all that precious to me at that hour – I think my realization of grace came many years later. I had some pretty weird notions of the Kingdom of God that needed to be corrected the hour I first believed.
It appears the people around Jesus had some pretty weird notions as well – the verse above says they supposed the Kingdom of God was to appear immediately. When does the Kingdom of God appear? When does grace appear precious? For some it's sooner than later and for others it's later than sooner. And for all of us the Kingdom of God comes in stages. It is true that God’s love is unconditional but along the line there has to be some conditioning and unlearning that has to take place in us.
Grace is more precious to me today than it was in 1983 when I made the choice to give all of my life to Jesus Christ and submit to His lordship. But the Kingdom has, in stages, become more precious to me as well; it didn’t happen all at once. Jesus proceeded to tell a parable because they needed to hear a parable in order to understand what was about to happen and to understand that the Kingdom comes in stages of conditioning, experience, and understanding. Wherever we are today, at whatever stage, the Kingdom has come and is coming.
Father God,
You are all-wise and all-knowing and You reveal Yourself in incremental ways that I can incrementally understand. Grace is more precious to me now because You have proven Yourself over and over to me. May I simply be more attentive and more attuned to Your love and presence as You help me to understand what comes next – thank You – amen.
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