Dr. Dallas Willard has peered into the glorious canyon of the heart and mind of God - and in his book he tells us not what he has read about, but what he has personally seen. Thus, this book was not written by a scribe but by a prophet. It smacks of another dimension that is all around us, also known as the kingdom of the heavens. We learn we're made for this "other" world, that our souls long for it, and that we're never at rest until we're fully oriented in this invisible, but real, dimension. This explains why most people live lives of "quiet desperation". The whole point of the book is that humans were made for a superiour hidden reality and that Jesus uniquely stands as both the Gatekeeper and Guide because, as a fact, only Jesus has experienced this hidden country. In his role as Sacrificial Lamb he lets us in the Gate, but in his role as Master Teacher, he is our Guide to living life - here and now. We learn that for years we've ignored Jesus' role as our Life Teacher. Is it any wonder we don't really know how to live? Is it any wonder our world is so messed up? And, in Jesus' absense as Life Teacher, we had to learn from someone - our blind world - on how to live, its principles, its habits, its lifestyle...and we have paid dearly. Dr. Willard eloquently pleads that we start learning how to truly live and that only Jesus has demonstrated standing in history to teach us. Fortunately, Jesus is still taking students, also known as disciples. We learn the call to make disciples in the Great Commission is in essence simply an invitation to learn how to live right - how to live in God's invisible country which is already here - and which is our true home. After reading it for the third time (something I've never done before), I realized how homesick I am (my own life of 'quiet desperation' - though I have good family and job, etc.) for my true home, the one which I was given a soul for -- yet the home I've been ignorant of even though I've been "located" in my home all the time...I was just blind to it as a reality. THIS is why Jesus said to "repent": as to WHAT constitutes ultimate reality: is it this world as we know it through our five senses or is it a multidimensional world, a kingdom of heavens as Jesus called it, and its corresponding rule and power. Jesus knew, then and now, that humans died to God and his kingdom in the Fall. Humans have been shut off from understanding and entering into this ultimate reality. For those who've had enough of a world that is dead to God - a world humans were never designed for, then the Divine Conspiracy can help shed the scales...maybe for the first time. Thanks be to God that His Son Jesus is still calling...calling us to himself, calling us home today. This is a call that can be fulfilled before we physically die too. This was precisely Jesus' intent. This is truly Good News. Thank you Dr. Willard for sharing with us what you've seen.
