I am learning that the profound peace of Jesus is perpetually in reach of my heart. That peace calls out to me like Lady Wisdom in the Proverbs. As I remind myself that I can fully trust Jesus, I enter that peace. It is always there. I need to learn to dwell there. Dwelling in his peace should be my default mode of existence. This is where life is--being engaged, not threatened, being fully awake, listening to the Spirit, caring about others, being filled with the Spirit, being in Christ with Christ in me, overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit, dwelling in the kingdom of God.
This is a whole other mode of existence, the mode for which I was made.
This is what Jesus meant when he said, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." The word "repent" means a changing of the mind. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that no one could "enter" the kingdom of without being born again. The work of being reborn allows us to enter that mode of existence we call the kingdom of God.
My problem is that I exit the kingdom of God and make my home outside of it. By God's grace, I'm learning to dwell in his kingdom where there is life, love, joy, and peace.
