Enter the Land

…giving thanks to the Father, who has… rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.  (Col. 1:12-14, HCSB)

This is my favorite time of year. The temps are cooling off, the lattes are flavored with pumpkin spice, the leaves crunch under foot, and the smell of autumn is in the air. It’s harvest season for the farmers in my area. And this year my mind is swirling with thoughts of one harvest season that proved to change history forever.

The Feast of Weeks

It was the spring of AD 30, and folks were coming from far and wide. It was the time of the wheat harvest in Israel, and that meant it was time to celebrate the Feast of Weeks.

To give you a little background, Pentecost (as it was called in Jesus’ day) was strongly tied to the Jewish Law of Redemption. The Law of Redemption states that when a land-owner goes broke, sells his land to another, and becomes a servant-for-hire in a foreign land, an eligible “near kinsman” living in Israel may purchase his land back for him so he may return, debt-free, to live and work on it (Lev. 25:23-55). When Israel gathered for the Feast of Weeks every year, they were commemorating when God brought them, as a people-group, out of Egypt and slavery, made them a real nation (at the giving of the Mosaic Law), and began the process of restoring to them to the land he promised Abraham he’d give them.

Independence Day

So it was AD 30, merely 7 weeks after the cross of Christ. And it was finally time for all of humanity’s plight to be reversed!

See, in Eden, humanity became broken, sold her land to another, and ended up a servant-for-hire in foreign territory (Rom. 3:23, 5:12, 6:6, 7:14).

Sound familiar?

Friends, this is what the cross was about! Jesus, acting as the “near Kinsman” of humanity, purchased her with his blood, freeing her from exile and slavery to the Darkness. And on Pentecost of AD 30, the Holy Spirit came to earth and offered every human a new law (written on hearts, not on stone) to make her a new kind of people (the kingdom of God), and to dwell in her homeland of promise—Jesus’ own glorified vessel (Rom. 8:2, 2 Cor. 3:3, Heb 8:10, 1 Pet. 2:9-10).

Amazing, no?!

What This Means for Us

Incredibly, what this means for you and I and anyone who believes in Jesus as the Savior—the Kinsman Redeemer—of the world, is that we—the Kingdom of God—have access to live from Heaven… even with feet still planted on earth. We can now abide in Christ himself!

Are You Living in the Land?

So this harvest season, I leave you with a question: “Are you living from the Land Jesus died and paid for you to live in?”

Being a Christian doesn’t mean you automatically do. It simply means that by faith you now can! Take time to consider this question. And remember, you’re already connected to Christ by his Spirit. You need simply to rest, by faith, in this true reality.

KATIE MOON is a Biblical researcher, writer, teacher, and founder of a non-profit online ministry called In Black and Light, where she reaches the world through innovative Bible teaching, written blog messages  and works behind the scenes researching and developing in-depth Bible Study curriculum. Katie and her husband, Garrett, live in Bismarck, North Dakota, with their three sons: Judah, Finnley, and Benton.