Mark 12:32b-34a

"'... there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart, with all understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.'

Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.'"

Distance from the kingdom of God is measured not by degrees, but by status. It's all or nothing. You're either a citizen of the kingdom or you're not, a countryman or a foreigner, alien.

If I love God with all my heart, exercising duty, and if I love God with all understanding, knowing much about Him, and if I love God with all my soul, pouring all of myself toward Him, and if I love God with all of my strength, giving all of my time to Him, and if I love my neighbor as myself, doing likewise for him/her as I have for the one true God, then I am not far from the kingdom. But all of that only gets me to the locked gates; I cannot enter until the door's been opened. The journey to get there's been long, tedious, and tiresome and my hope is uplifted thinking that I've finally arrived, but the walls are too high to scale and I'm shut out with great disappointment. (cf. I Corinthians 13) Seems unfair, but God is Almighty and He still hasn't granted me access, and there's nothing I can do about it.

But there's more to God than God Himself. He's part and parcel to His other triune members of the Godhead. Each play an integral role to kingdom access. I know much about Him and do much for Him, but it all goes unnoticed until I'm introduced to the King of kings, Jesus. All of my thinking, all of my doing, and all of my emoting was worthless up until now, as if I were boxing air. But Jesus, but Jesus, with bloodied and beaten body gleefully looks down upon me from the city walls and says, "Look into my eyes and believe, trust that I am the only one that can open these gates, and if you do so I will gladly permit you to enter my rest." I respond, "I believe." Now my citizenship is warranted and guaranteed because of faith He gave and the Spirit also as a pledge of my inheritance. And now I can truly know, truly love and truly sacrifice not from a distance or even nearby, but actually within the fortified walls of God's kingdom, rejoicing with arms held high and holding my proof of citizenship, the Spirit, in Jesus. This is the one true God, in three. Now I can love.