Yesterday, in the course of racing from a conference call to an appointment, I found myself digging in my pocket for the keys that would give me access to a rental car and a hotel room. When I arrived at an office complex where I had a meeting, a bar-coded name badge gave me the necessary electronic permission to avail myself of a bank of elevators that took me to the 19th floor.
Keys open possibilities and they restrict them. They launch, ignite and extinguish. They unlock and they prevent. Keys grant authority… they mysteriously open and close…
A plastic card, an odd shaped electronic fob, an elegantly crafted antique skeleton key… all with purpose. Access. Control. Power. Strength.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. ~ Matthew 16:18-19
In the waning moments of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He places the keys of the “kingdom of heaven” in the palm of Peter’s calloused hand. In the days ahead they would rattle around in his heart, like a single key in a bottomless pocket. He would fiddle with them, misplace them, try and force them into the wrong lock… but ultimately and confidently he would slide them into the lock and he would masterfully release the gospel to a crowd of listeners in Acts 2… “And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below…,” he declared; because he had the keys. “And everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” … because he had witnessed firsthand the power of the gospel.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. ~ Acts 2:41
The keys to the kingdom of heaven. Unlocking an explosion of God’s power through the release of the Good News.
The Lord sets the prisoner free. ~ Psalm 146:7
Captives and prisoners; with the only key that fits the lock. God’s Good News. The Message of hope. The formula for freedom.
Keys… now in the palm of our hands.
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