We in the Western world are far past due for a wake-up call from God! SO wrapped up in schedules and activities that don't have KINGDOM in the center of them. However, I am humbled when I consider what God's wake-up call in Scripture looks like. Usually, it involves bondage.
I borrowed these excerpts from a friend's blog. They come from Richard Stearns' book, A Hole in the Gospel. May they serve as a "wake-up" for those who are in my world.
“On Sunday morning, safe in our church pews and surrounded by friends, it can be all too easy to leave the world’s violence, suffering, and turmoil outside — out of sight, out of mind.”
“. . . Being a follower of Jesus Christ requires much more than just a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world.”
“The whole gospel is a vision for ushering in God’s kingdom — now, not in some future time, and here, on earth, not in some distant heaven.”
“Those words from the Lord’s Prayer, ‘your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven’ were and are a clarion call to Jesus’ followers not just to proclaim the good news but to be the good news, here and now (Matt. 6:10). This gospel — the whole gospel — means much more than the personal salvation of individuals. it means a societal revolution.”
1 comment:
So, are you saying that the gospel calls us to social action?
This is a far move from doctrinal-based communities who exist to make sure that they are believing right and doing church right.
To promote a gospel that forces us to be heavily engaged in a community means that we are making the statement that the good news of Jesus wraps us up in every day affairs. We become participants in the rhythm of creation.
This is the kind of message that gets prophets and Jesus killed!
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