Who are we?
What We Believe
Plug In
Calendar
Staff
Where to find us
Links
Articles
 »  Home  »  Blogs  »  Your Kingdom Come
Ryan Clements
 

View all blogs by Ryan Clements...
Your Kingdom Come
By Ryan Clements | Published  09/23/2006

God doesn't have control issues as we think of them, and this statement is certainly not mindless submission to God's soverignty.  Far from it actually.  In order for us to truly be Kingdom-dwellers, it is pretty important that we understand that what we do now has a lot to do with the future. 

Jesus reminds us that God kingdom is a special kind of environment.  Jesus tells us what it is like without being explicit...maybe so we can all dream about it; one thing is becoming clearer though.  God values something altogether different than we do.  If God valued money, we'd all be rich.  If God valued material things, we'd all have the 'stuff' we want; God wants to pour out his blessings on us.

God values the people He created us to be.  I think God wants us to get to know that fingerprint that He put on each of our hearts.  God values the immeasurable parts of our soul.  And because God gave each one of us (whether we know it or not) that fingerprint, we all have a place to belong in God's Kingdom...and that is good news.
Texture - Stone Wall
I also don't think God is so intent on establishing a new kingdom.  I think God's more interested in re-establishing the one He started in the Garden.  No wall, no bounds, every piece part of the whole and every piece knows it.  Think about what life in the Garden may have been like...

That's what life with God is like...

That's what the Kingdom is like...

God sets us free to be the person that He created us to be.  Not some replicated Jesus drone.  God wired us to be distinct and I don't think that God ever meant for us to lose our flavor. 

Your Kingdome come...

Comments

  • Comment #1 (Posted by Tyler)

    I think Paul would agree with a lot of what you say. And a lot of what was said during discussion. When he talks about us having our different spiritual gifts, I think there are two important lessons that apply to what was discussed in this teaching.

    1) Flavors. It's important to remember that Paul says something to the effect of "there are different gifts, and different types of workings". I think in saying this he is inviting us to share our distinct flavors with our community(s). He's reminding us that we all bring something to the pot, and that what we bring is valuable.

    2) Restoration. Part of restoration, as you mentioned, is going back to a "Garden view" ... when we didn't know what spiritual was, because all that happened was done in fellowship with God. And I think the gifts he mentions are a part of that. Service and Leadership are not necisarrily spiritual in nature, but can 100% be turned over to God and be spiritual. And that goes for many others Paul listed. And his list is not exhaustive. Anything we can do and accomplish can be a Spiritual Gift, something we can offer not only to God, but to the community around us. And, as such, plays a part in restoring our world to God's Kingdowm ... and in bringing his Kingdom to Come ... and in restoring us to that "Garden View".
     
    • Submit Comment