hey...
during our time together on friday night, i was struck by something that i thought i'd try to blogicate.
we talked about a myriad of things...and struggled with the idea of what Christ meant when he told us to seek or set our hearts on his character and kingdom. what struck me as we talked is that, no matter how much i've read and studied the gospels, i think i've always held subconsciously to the idea that this 'kingdom' that jesus always talked about was surreal, cognitive, ethereal, heavenly, to-be-realized-in-eternity. and while i've read lots of the same books as many of you and heard some good people talk about bringing his kingdom to earth today...a thought struck me.
you ever think about how 'the kingdom' is really God's only plan for making things right? you ever think that while Christ came and salvaged all of creation from eternity's scrap yard...he still talked incessently about this 'kingdom'...this notion of a world made right in the wake of his followers?
what i realized clearer than ever before [and perhaps it's quite redundant] is that 'the kingdom' jesus talked about was made for you and me and everyone else. christ's teaching of a new way of living and a transformed way of experiencing wholeness is for me. it's not for the spiritually elite who are able to decipher the secret code...and it's not for those who've worked their way to the top.
and that made me think about when jesus was teaching and said that, '...the kingdom of god is in you.' you ever realize that christ came to restore a long forgotten kingdom...long forsaken and over-grown...long ruled by tyrants and dictators...long held captive in the broken hearts of people like you and me? and then did you ever trip over the fact that THIS kingdom is God's MASTERPLAN to make all things right again? isn't that crazy?
ya...it is crazy. but there's nowhere else my heart feels at home.
sw
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this isn't a comment...just a continuation because blogging a new message would be weird. chuckle.
the story of God revealing Himself in scripture and history is one of constantly creating new ways for us to see/encounter Him. God has a history of not only wanting to be found...but wanting to be known. we see this no clearer than in the picture of jesus...God with clothes on.
and it's this picture that i'm wrestling with. for the entire time he was here, jesus made it quite clear that he was on a mission to teach us a new way of seeing, knowing, and experiencing the mystery of god. and when he had 'finished' this mission [aka making friends and teaching them how to really live], he left and made it clear that the 'Church' would be built and grow into a redeeming presence in the earth.
i'm realizing that i've begun to believe in the Church as what Jesus said it would be: life-giving, fun, elusive, fulfilling, difficult, releasing, beautiful, music-for-my-heart. and i have begun to believe in the continuing revelation of God in my world and time...that his love for all creation is being rebirthed and lived again in our lives, TODAY.
ya.
sw
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