Devotional: Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction

"For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). Sounds like a chain reaction to me! The revelation of righteousness gives peace, and this kind of peace births joy! Even in the middle of a great trial, believers can lean and rely upon that which God has placed in them through Christ.

Do you remember when the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would come? He answered and said to them, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21). This was a new thought. Every other example of a kingdom had been one of an earthly and natural origin. To even insinuate individuals could have the kingdom of God within them baffled the Pharisees. But to us, on this side of redemption, His words make perfect sense. Our heart has become His home; and with Him has come great power and authority... signs of a true kingdom.

Daniel prophesied, "In the days of the these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Daniel 2:44). In that hour, the people must have envisioned a powerful earthly kingdom, greater than any that had ever been. But in truth, Daniel was prophesying of the salvation of man. This is why Jesus said to His disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power" (Mark 9:1). And it came to pass as He said - not that men would live hundreds or even thousands of years until His return - but that upon His resurrection, those who believed in Him, would receive the kingdom of God within them!

The Bible tells about a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews, who visited Jesus late one night. He said to Jesus, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it." Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."

"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?" Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and [that person] becomes a living spirit" (John 3:1-8, Message).

Nicodemus struggled to grasp the concept Jesus was speaking of. You see, God's kingdom is not formed through natural means. His kingdom is shaped by the sincere acceptance of Jesus Christ by any person who dares to believe. Like the Spirit hovering over the water at the creation of earth, the Holy Spirit is continually hovering over mankind waiting for the moment when faith is birthed; and with less than a breath He rushes in with all the power of the Godhead and gives life and righteousness to the new believer.

Righteousness is the first element in the chain reaction of God's kingdom. It is the right-standing with God given to believers, which also washes away their trespasses as if they had never sinned. This gift of righteousness then causes a reaction that results in peace and acceptance within (sometimes too much for the mind to conceive or fully understand). But with further revelation of righteousness, confirmed by inner peace, joy develops and grows out of the continuation of this amazing chain reaction called the "kingdom of God." It's not mortar and brick, or gold and high towers; it is the power and presence of the Living God within His children. "For the kingdom of God is not in word [or anything else] but in power" (1 Corinthians 4:20).

By definition, a chain reaction is a series of events in which each event is the result of the one preceding and the cause of the one following. Isaiah may have had that in mind when he said, "The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever" (Isaiah 32:17). This work (this chain reaction) is within you. So, as the Message Bible says, "The kingdom of God isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as He sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy."