“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Luke 12:32
The kingdom is given to the humble who remain faithful to the Lord.
The flock of Christ is an image of the Church of Christ.
The little flock
To human eyes, this flock is little:
- compared to the world’s population, we are few in number. Jesus did not send His Apostles to seal all the inhabitants of the earth before His return;
- among God’s children, there are many of modest means. Faithfulness to Christ does not necessarily give access to material wealth;
- Apostles and ministers do not perform spectacular healings;
- New Apostolic Christians are sinners—their behavior is not always above reproach;
- our refusal to use violence and our silence when attacked can be seen by some as signs of weakness.
What people think of us does not affect our salvation. The fact that the flock is small in the eyes of people will not prevent God from giving them the kingdom.
It is the Father’s good pleasure to give them the kingdom
Salvation is God’s gift to His own. In His goodness, He gives them what they can neither earn nor obtain on their own. He allows them to enter into His glory, to become like the image of Christ, and to live in perfect and eternal fellowship with God and each other. The kingdom of God is already visible today: the faithful experience Jesus Christ’s presence in the Church through His word, the sacraments and fellowship.
Remaining in the flock of little ones
To receive the kingdom of God, we must remain in the flock of “little ones”:
we must never forget that we have been chosen by grace, not by merit. We are completely dependent on God’s grace. Let us remain humble towards our neighbor, for we are no better than they are;
before God, let us be like children (Mt 18:4). Let us trust our Father, who knows and does everything better than we do. Let us obey His will. Let us accept His decisions—think of the wages of the workers at the last hour (Mt 20:10-15) or the salvation offered to non-Jews (Acts 10:10-16);
let us follow the Lord (Jn 10:27), serving one another as He taught us (Jn 13:14-15); let us deny ourselves to become like Christ;
let us faithfully follow the Apostles—those who receive them, receive the Lord (Mt 10:40). Do not fear By remaining in Christ’s flock, we have nothing to fear:
Jesus Christ keeps His promises — He will be with His Apostles until the end (Mt 28:20), He watches over His Church built on the rock that is the Chief Apostle ministry (CNAC 7.6.6), He will soon return to take His own to Himself;
when we are attacked, let us be content to use the weapons Jesus gives us, even if they do not seem suited to the situation. It is God who fights for us. Remember the story of Gideon! let us not be afraid to commit ourselves to the Lord and His work — He will give us infinitely more than we give up for Him. Summary: What people think of us does not affect our salvation. God offers salvation freely to the humble who faithfully follow Christ and His Apostles. We have nothing to fear; Christ leads His work to perfection.