New Years in Indy

Ringing in the New Year in Zionsville

Some more fun in Zionville

The Key to the Keys of the Kingdom of God

Lori Moore and Dallas Willard

Since 2013, I have worn a necklace with a key instead of a cross, to remind me that we all have access to the Kingdom of God. Dallas Willard wrote of the Key to the Keys of the Kingdom, that having keys does not mean the right to control access to others, but the enjoyment of access. This is what matters. Will I choose to participate in what God is doing in and around me, today? For that choosing is how we can truly experience the abundant life that Jesus invites us to know. The abundance of God in our lives is not passively received or imposed and does not happen to to us by chance. It is claimed and put into action by our active pursuit of it. We must seek out ways to live and act in union with a life with God. We must act! Grace is opposed to earning, not effort. The key to the Keys of the Kingdom is a well-directed, decisive, and sustained effort on our part -- a daily choice to seek it out, and accept the gift God has to give us, and to choose to use our key to open the door and walk into a life with God.

I give you this key as a reminder to you of the great gift that God has given us, the abundant life, right here, right now. Eternity is in session! Put it in your pocket, on your keyring, or wear it as a necklace, or tape it to your bathroom mirror to remind you every day of God Immanuel -- God is with us!