When I was a kid, I remember the song by Woody Guthrie, “This land is your land“. We sang it in the third grade, back when the music teacher would roll her record player music cart from class to class back in the mid 70’s.
The first phrase read:
This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.
Though the song is over 75 years old, (it was written on February 23, 1940), the tune and at least the first stanza are arguably as well-known as the national anthem itself. Originally penned as an expression of scorn for those who don’t see fit to share the land, it expressed pride in the land, but more than that, it conveyed that all of the land was made for you and me. As a citizen of the United States, it is ours. All of it. At great cost, (some with their very lives), our forefathers paid dearly for this land so that we could inhabit it freely. They sacrificed their lives so that their offspring could inhabit the land.
The Kingdom is Ours
Jesus paid the price so that we could inhabit the Kingdom. As a believer in Christ, his Kingdom is ours to inhabit. But what does that look like? You can have as much of God as you want. In fact, you currently have as much of God as you want. The reason you don’t have more of God, is because you are comfortable with where you are right now in your relationship with God.
This is not an indictment. It’s a challenge to you to venture out into the Kingdom and explore all that God has made available to you. The land is yours. It’s already been paid for and you have no idea where the Lord will take you.
Explore the Land
When the first settlers landed on Plymouth Rock, do you think they had any idea what lay beyond the Appalachian mountains? In heading west, they came upon the Great Plains that extended as far as the eye could see. Eventually, they were brought to the Rocky Mountains and the vast Grand Canyon, and beyond that, the Pacific Ocean. They had no idea what lay ahead. Neither do you. Venture out and explore the Kingdom with God.
Let me give another example. The Word reads, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you . . .” – James 4:8a. For a moment, picture and man and a woman 100 feet away from each other. In this example, let’s say that each time the woman takes a step toward the man, he then takes a step toward her. The more she walks toward him, not only does she get closer to him, but he responds equally by matching her pace, step for step toward her. Eventually they meet face to face.
There is an Intimacy Available to You
God “is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20). There is so much land (Kingdom), that he has for us to inhabit, to live in, to lay claim to. He’s a romantic and will draw close to you as you draw close to him. The onus is on you. You determine the depth of the relationship that you have with God. There is always more Kingdom to explore and intimacy with God available to you. Venture with God.