Ecclesia: The Redemptive Kingdom
“God, why does it have to be that way?”
My hunch is that I’m not the only one who asks that question at least a few times every week. Things happen around us and around the world every day that just can’t be what God intended. Even as we feel the turmoil of this broken world, we long to see God restore humanity and creation to what he intended them to be. And that is the nature of the Kingdom of God — to see the Kingdom is to see life as God intended it.
To be the church is to join God in redeeming and restoring creation to what God desires that it would be. As the church, we long to see God’s way, God’s will, happen on earth. That is the nature of the redemptive Kingdom. Knowing that, our question this week is a simple one, but worth a lot o f thought — how have you seen the Kingdom of God in action? It could have been this past week, or it could have been a decade ago, but how have you seen God’s redemptive work in action firsthand?
May 14th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Having just celebrated Mother’s Day yesterday-I’m in a Mom kind of mode.(Not unlike any and every OTHER day!!!) Anyway,the question you’ve asked made me immediately think of Tonya. As many of you know, her teenage years were quite a struggle for her and our whole family. I will not share specific stories but I can just say that there are a LOT of them!! There were many times when I never believed that we’d ever have a relationship as adults. I prayed every day asking God to heal our relationship. God is good! He does answer prayer and not always immediately as I have grown to learn. Had it not been for the Kingdom of God, I believe that Tonya and I would have a much different relationship today. I’m so proud of the woman, mother, and friend that she has become. Pathways has so blessed our entire family and we are so thankful and excited about what God has planned for us.
May 15th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Greetings from Germany, one of the most gospel resistent nations. The people of this nation have twice given their hearts to a leader who was going to solve all their problems. Both times that resulted in the bloodshed of thousands of their sons and daughters. When the wars were over, the church was absent. There was no response or message from a state church that has abandoned the gospel. So, don’t try telling a German that they need a savior, or the church is their hope. They have been done that road.
In light of this, this past weekend we were a part of the opening of two new churches that, like Pathways, are targeting young people who feel the need for something spiritual, but are struggling with so many questions and wondering who they can trust. We saw God at work in both congregations (one morning and the other afternoon) as it was young people who led and shared the gospel message. God is not going to let go of this country, and, praise His name, there are faithful workers here who are not about to give up.
May 15th, 2007 at 11:12 am
For me, God is awesome and has blessed me so many times with family and friends when I thought I had none. Even now I find myself in a family I would never have today if I had not let God walk me through the process of forgiveness and restoration. Through that process I found a new mother in my life who builds me up and cares for me in ways I never knew. And, who blesses me with encouraging messages and ideas about motherhood and just letting go. I also found restoration in my relationship with my father who when I lived in California would call once a week, no matter how busy his schedule was to say, “how is it going?” and “is there anything you need?”. I learned to trust our relationship and appreciate the concept that I had parents and was not alone in this world. This was a huge change for me. God’s gift of restoration over the years has impacted me more than I can imagine and has shaped the woman I have become and continue to work at becoming. I feel like sometimes in the midst of the struggle I have to remind myself of all the times God has restored people and situations in my life in a way I could not imagine or dreamed for and this is a blessing in difficult times as well as a reminder he is always there with a greater plan whether we see it or not.
May 19th, 2007 at 7:48 am
Greetings to the Pathways Community and Blessings to all in spirit and health as I write you from the Kingdom of Heaven.
This kingdom has been easier lately to see about me as I travel through life in pursuit of growing my love for the Lord, Jesus Christ. In saying this, I look only to scripture and the example set before us by our dear forefathers of Christ’s church, the disciples (learned students of the Teacher). And life is for a leaning experience growing patience, and from this a want of nothing. Even Jesus was subject to it, Hebrews 5:8.
The scriptures state that the Lord will not allow on His believers more than they can handle. It is in memory of this that I wish He did not have so much trust in me. Since 1 Peter 1:7 states the trials to one’s faith is counted to God as more precious than fire refined gold, I have truly, as of late, become rich. In this I reference the last few weeks of my life in the kingdom.
First, the opportunity of physical ailment afflicting me in the form of phenomena, which became worse before it thought of getting better. But you say, so what, as we all have ill health from time to time. Yes, but the story goes on. It is then an affliction to my family as my precious dog, best friend, and faithful companion is killed. Grief and such sorrow have never been in this old body before.
So what more, as body and family are attacked, could possibly go wrong? How about church, or faith? As I believe in the Saturday Sabbath and attend on a most regular basis a Saturday going church, it was here offered to me a position of leadership, which then declared to the congregation that I also attend church on Sundays. (You see I truly love the Lord with all my heart.) I then was on the verge of being excommunicated from said church. It was only a long process that I believe through the Holy Spirit and much quoted scripture that all came to a peaceful and rational settlement, so far, as there are still a few in discussion of the entire ordeal.
Now in the mist of living in the kingdom of heaven I have found trouble to health, family and faith, so I ask what more can become a trial to my beliefs? What about business? OK. Lets tell you about a self employed graphic artist who has had the honor of serving public graphic needs for over 30 plus years. I speak of how after the sorrows and declining mentality of the above came to a sharpened point by a trial to business, in an attempt to affect home and ministry.
After a small rest I approached my computer (main lifeline to all I do in business) and was greeted by an uncooperative Macintosh. It was a split second; I once again saw my life flash before my eyes. A simple turning off and restarting of a computer that brought a new perspective to the word sorrow and grief. I had just under gone an entire new hard drive installment (7 of them), along with software and operating system in December of last year. And, as I have 7 drives, all in the gigabit range, what is the probability that the one that decides to expire is the most vital to my operation.
To shorten this story, I have every job ever done in my career backed up. But this crash was so hard it affected the backed data and resulted in loss of many 100s of gigs of most important files and many current jobs in process. Photos, financial, business, and much personal importance, gone in seconds.
No problem as I have insurance—which I soon find out, only insures the drive not the data. But as I said I have a backup system. So as I exchange the drive I decline the retrieval of data as it was estimated to be between 1000 and 6000 dollars, and with no guarantee. Am I in the wrong business? I installed the new drive, operating system, got back on line by spending 5 sleepless days and nights reinstating all the required files and systems to return to business. In this process I discover all backups are corrupt and call to have data recovered only to discover there is no way of knowing where this old drive is in the entire world, and believe me I tried.
In summing this all up. I am living in the kingdom of heaven and writing to you not for sympathy, empathy, or ever sorrow but as a reassurance that if you find the promise of the kingdom of heaven and decide to live in it present, by any understanding do not expect an Eden, but a ground of which you will learn and grown the mature Christian faith required to become a resident in the Kingdom yet to come.
In closing may I refer you to 2 Peter 3-8…
3According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May it be so, God’s Blessings to you and your trials.