Although access to the kingdom of God is free, some people are openly hostile towards it, and would have nothing to do with it. They reject it outright, would not like to try, test or taste it. They brush off the thought of a God - a superior being - and dismiss any likelihood of his existence. They think they know so much and are sufficient to themselves. Having thus boosted their egos, they develop attitudes that do not honour God and fall out of line.
People like these, the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes of our day, have not hidden their total disregard and rejection of the person of our Lord Jesus. Prophet Isaiah had prophesied this to be the case. (Isaiah 53:3). In this manner, the Chosen One of God, Jesus, who had become the headstone of the corner, was refused by builders. (Psalm 118:22).
Indeed, the capstone, the angular stone, the very stone the builder sets prior to building was not acknowledged for what He was. He who said; "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come." (Revelation 1:8) He who is "The same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) He said to His disciples; "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." (Luke 10:16)
The things of God are spiritually discerned and the so-called sharp mind is blind to things spiritual. These things are like foolishness to him. The Bible teaches that "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." (1st Corinthians 1:27) Paul exhorts; "the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18) "God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21)
Needless to underline the fact that just as there is no obligation in using the tester, we are free to choose not to listen, learn and accept what the word of God offers as the truth of His kingdom. There is no better way to discern the truth about what is being preached than when we go to the source which is the Word of God, Jesus Christ in person - Kalimatu Allah. It is time we lend an attentive ear and attune our spirits to His word.
No one has been to the kingdom of God - the heavens, and returned to tell us about its features, how it functions and what to expect, if it is not our Lord Jesus. Through His teachings, we have a glimpse of heaven and everlasting life. A man found a hidden treasure in a field. He hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought the field. The kingdom of God is like discovering a hidden treasure. (Matthew 13: 44-46) In the tester we should find that joy of savouring what is to come.
Our Lord Jesus gives us an authentic and firsthand account of the kingdom of God from whence He came. He gives us an eyewitness account and paints a vivid picture of what eternal entails. That is exactly what the tester does. Our Lord Jesus warns that we should be mindful of where we keep our belongings, our properties. It is better in heaven where nothing rots, rusts or gets mouldy; thieves do not go there to steal and cockroaches can do one's property no harm. On this earth everything will pass away, nothing remains. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19-20)
Our Lord Jesus states that the kingdom of God is here and now. It is what we make of this life that will qualify us for the next.
A tester's basic essential ingredient is perfume, its difference is that it is not in the same container.
There comes a time when we should go beyond the stage of testers and go for the real thing. The Bible states that we cannot be babies forever there comes a time when we need milk to grow another stage when we need solid food. "But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:14) To stay with testers will betray our state of immaturity. It's time we grow out of this state by seeking the kingdom in order to procure a place for ourselves.
A tester is like a guarantee of the product we intend to buy. The real product we take home with us will not be any different. You can be sure it would be the same as what was tested. No variance. "In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." (John 14:2-4)
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