Even something grand seems finite in the proper perspective.
If we only praise God in the favorable circumstances, or circumstances that work out exactly how we want, then we concede that we believe “what’s best for us” is to be happy, successful, comfortable, safe, and easy. What’s more, we concede that we believe God’s job is to make those things happen. But beware, easy lives rarely lead to satisfied existences.
The citizens of the heavenly city were actively seeking the peace and good order of the earthly city.
David Bosch
One of the questions I’ve heard thrown about recently is:
Is the Good News truly, well, good?
Those who claim that Jesus is indeed King, that he has visibly and powerfully enacted the reign of God that will extend into eternity with transformation, the vanquishing of evil & destruction, and liberation from everything that distracts us from being pure, unadulterated citizens who are faithful to King Jesus, are faced with a question.
And it’s not, actually, “is the Good News good?”
It’s far more personal:
Are we Good News?
Since we are all creatures of flesh and blood, Jesus took on flesh and blood, so that by dying he could destroy the one who held power over death—the devil—and destroy the fear of death that has always held people captive.
Hebrews 3:14-15, The Voice translation
Can I get an amen?
Freedom is scary. It’s paralyzing.
Yes, we are no longer being controlled or manipulated…
But we now are no longer able to control or manipulate.
You see, the problem is that we want to be God.
We want to shape something in the image of the created, not the Creator, so that we can control & manipulate it. So we can play God without directly admitting it.
But ultimately, we want to be God.
This is a problem for lots of reasons, but I want to point out one:
We’ll never have the power to achieve what it is we ultimately want and need, therefore we’ll trap ourselves in an unending hell of our own making that we are insufficiently equipped to escape.
Our culture hero is not the artist or reformer, not the saint or scientist, but the entrepreneur.
I'm a runner, writer, thinker, and pastor. I love to agitate people's consciences. I like to spend my time reading, running, and relaxing with family & friends.