Fear not little flock!

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom."
~Luke 12:32 (KJV)

These words, spoken by Jesus, are so often overlooked. I believe we too often get caught up in the fear generated by what comes before this, like: "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known." ~Luke 12:2

We may even give the other positives most of the attention when we read these passages, like: "And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do." ~Luke 12:4

But this one obscure verse, for me at least, has remained hidden until this very moment, in spite of my having read these passages hundreds, maybe thousands, of times. Praise God! Today I read, received and perceived this in my spirit for the first time.

"Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure
to give you the kingdom."
~Luke 12:32

What a beautiful, ultimately encompassing reassurance this is! If we break it down it goes:

Fear not – a command. Fear, as Jesus tells us many times, is our detriment, our Hell right here, right now. True faith is the absence of fear. *Check back soon for a further dissertation on Jesus' teachings on fear.

Little flock – an awesome expression of endearment.  If one of us strays, He is anxious to return us to the fold of His protection. Like a sheep is blameless because it knows no better than to stray, God knows that we will stray and still prods and pokes us until we meet the ultimate goal of returning to the safety and love of the flock.

For it is your Father's – "Your Father's"!! He looks out after and guards over us like a loving parent would.  He is my parent and yours, too and cares for us as such. Like the prodigal son, there's nothing we could do that would ever stand up to the test of actually deserving His grace, mercy and love, but He gives it, always.

Good pleasure – Good = "Having the qualities that are desirable or distinguishing in a particular thing." Pleasure = "The state or feeling of being pleased or gratified." It pleases and gratifies God to give us the things that He, as a loving parent, deems desirable and good to us and for us.

To give you the kingdom – Halleluiah! Heaven is a state of the Spirit, a joining in love with God that bonds us as one eternally with Him even when we don't know we are bonded.  Just as an unruly child does not often recognize – and often tries to break - the bonds of love & protection of his or her earthly parents, we too do this with God.  But as any good parent would, He continually guides us toward achieving conscious recognition of this bond, because it is good and healthy for our growth for us to recognize that His love is always there, unconditional to a point which we've never known in any other sense. He forgives us for everything. Forgive yourself and do better from now on – recognize and rejoice in the kingdom inside which is ours! *Check back soon for a further dissertation on Jesus' teachings on the kingdom of Heaven.

Christ came and died for us to lead us to God, to give us an example of the ultimate sacrifice of God's love for us and how we are to show the same to God and all others. Like any good parent, God forgives us and wants what's best for us in that we move forward in a positive, healthy manner so that our oneness with Him and all who He created can be achieved. To serve our fellow man is to serve and glorify God, which is why we're here. If you're looking for the meaning of life, this is it!

Although we don't deserve it, this is a clear statement direct from Jesus lips to our hearts if only we can hear it…God's love for us is always here and He wants us to be happy and will try to make us so by giving us His gifts whether we are deserving or not! As Jesus says, those who have ears to hear let them hear! We are human and weary and lacking, but it is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom! 

At our lowest times when we cry out He is there. Like a good parent, He gives us this unconditional love and peace whether we are deserving or whether we recognize it or not and at the times when we least expect it He or someone (via His plan) soothes, calms or nurses us through our troubles, so that time after time, we still, amazingly, come through. Sometimes it takes breaking us down to get us to see it, but we do, definitely, come out on the other side when we think there's no possible way we can. With God ALL things are possible!

"LORD, how are they increased that trouble me!
Many [are] they that rise up against me. 
Many [there be] which say of my soul,
[There is] no help for him in God. Selah. 
But thou, O LORD, [art] a shield for me;
my glory, and the lifter up of mine head. 
I cried unto the LORD with my voice,
and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah. 
I laid me down and slept; I awaked;
for the LORD sustained me."
~Psalms 3:1-5

He will always sustain you whether you realize that's what's going on or not, so fear not little flock!

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