“Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.” – Luke 17v21 (MSG)
“I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love…” John 15v11-12 (MSG)
We don’t have to scare people into Life. If you’ve heard the phrase, “free people free people” the same is true of scared people – “scared people scare people”. We project what we believe to be most true about the universe. This includes what we think is most true about God, humanity, our insecurities and other core beliefs. A popular tactic in churches today, to “convert” or convince people of how much God cares for them is to remind them of how unworthy they are in light of the holy splendor of God’s worthiness. This, in turn, does more harm than good. Constantly reminding people of how bad they are in comparison to how good God is is not good news no matter how you package it. It’s just not. Guilting and shaming people into following Jesus (kind of, not really) worked in the 70′s and 80′s but it doesn’t today. I’m not opting for a motivational-speaker-positivity-inspirational-gospel like some might think. I’m actually opting for a more real, more true reality of who we can say people are because of who God says we are.
Made-in-the-image-of-God-loved-before-we-did-anything-or-took-a-single-breath.
Tell people that this Mystery has been with them the whole time and that God is actually for them. This is compelling. This is good news. Whether they respond or not is not up to you. Whether they want to participate and dance to the music is not your burden to carry.
I’m convinced we don’t view God and life this way because of the systems and explanations of the gospel most people have inherited. Until we know for ourselves this Mysterious Holy Love in a way that is beyond God simply tolerating us or loving us because Jesus had to die, we’ll never be able to pass on anything more than old news.
You have to hear the music for yourself. You have to taste. You have to see. Then, we get to bring people along and invite them into Reality.
God is bigger than doom and gloom. God is not mad at the world. The Universe is a safe place. All people have been grafted in. All people get to listen to the music and join the Dance.
If you believe this- that the Kingdom of God is in our midst (and within us). If you believe that God wants to complete our joy by us joining into the music and celebration. Then, begin to model it, express it, demonstrate it, live in it and from it in every way possible. Your freedom and demonstrated living of this best news will compel others to want to do the same.
The Kingdom of God is the best thing.
The Best is with us. The Best is for us. The Best is here and now and forever.
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