GROWTH TAKES PLACE AT THE EDGE OF RISK
I have been reading through Greg's Boyd's facinating book The Myth of a Christian Nation (Zondervan, 2005). Dr. Boyd says the heart of Jesus's teachings is the Kingdom of God. Here are some excerpts from his book:
"God is not primarily about getting people to pray a magical 'sinner's prayer' or to confess certain magical truths as a means of escaping hell. He's not about gathering together a group who happen to believe all the right things. Rather, He's about gathering together a group of people who embody God's kingdom----who individually and corporately manifest the reality of the reign of God on the earth. And he's about growing this new kingdom through his body to take over the world. The vision of what God is about lies at the heart of Jesus ministry, and it couldn't contrast with the kingdom of the world more sharply" (p.30).
This is a revlutionary kingdom that begins as a mustard seed and continues to grow and grow. This kingdom power does not look like Rambo or the Terminator but looks a lot like Calvary. Boyd continues,
"The kingdom of this world is concerned with preserving law and order by force; the kingdom of Godis concerned with establishing the rule of God through love. The kingdom of this world is centrally concerned with what people do; the kingdom of God is centrally concerned with how people are and what they can become. The kingdom of the world is characterized by judgment; the kingdom of God is characterized by outrageous, even scandalous, grace" (p.32).
In the end, whose kingdom are you living in and breathing in? Whose kingdom power are you living by? Or to say it another way, whose will governs your life, God's will or your own will?
I have been reading through Greg's Boyd's facinating book The Myth of a Christian Nation (Zondervan, 2005). Dr. Boyd says the heart of Jesus's teachings is the Kingdom of God. Here are some excerpts from his book:
"God is not primarily about getting people to pray a magical 'sinner's prayer' or to confess certain magical truths as a means of escaping hell. He's not about gathering together a group who happen to believe all the right things. Rather, He's about gathering together a group of people who embody God's kingdom----who individually and corporately manifest the reality of the reign of God on the earth. And he's about growing this new kingdom through his body to take over the world. The vision of what God is about lies at the heart of Jesus ministry, and it couldn't contrast with the kingdom of the world more sharply" (p.30).
This is a revlutionary kingdom that begins as a mustard seed and continues to grow and grow. This kingdom power does not look like Rambo or the Terminator but looks a lot like Calvary. Boyd continues,
"The kingdom of this world is concerned with preserving law and order by force; the kingdom of Godis concerned with establishing the rule of God through love. The kingdom of this world is centrally concerned with what people do; the kingdom of God is centrally concerned with how people are and what they can become. The kingdom of the world is characterized by judgment; the kingdom of God is characterized by outrageous, even scandalous, grace" (p.32).
In the end, whose kingdom are you living in and breathing in? Whose kingdom power are you living by? Or to say it another way, whose will governs your life, God's will or your own will?
No comments:
Post a Comment