Different Kingdom
The centerpiece of Jesus’ different kingdom is a loving, giving God, going to extravagant lengths to welcome us home to ourselves, to one another and to a kingdom where new beginnings abound.
Difference Making
The difference between the devil and Jesus is that Jesus kept worshipping God through the temptations, the silence, and the suffering. That always makes the difference.
Attentive
If we will be “attentive” to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ like “a lamp shining in a dark place…,” then we will find our way through the myths and deceptions of this world, back to ourselves, and the truth of the glory of God.
Love
Jesus has prescribed that while we aren’t guaranteed full restoration with a brother or sister, when we commit ourselves to the ministry of reconciliation, we demonstrate the love of God.
Mature
In theory, there should be a direct line between length of church membership and depth of Christian maturity but in reality, that has not been my experience. Christian maturity is understood as: having a vibrant relationship with God as Lord and friend, and a proficiency with the practices and tools of the faith.
Preference
God’s blessing helps to locate us, confirm us, energize us and even offer us coordinates back to blessing when we stray. Blessing is experienced as a reason to hope, communicated by a reliable source based on an ultimate truth.
Restorative
Jesus redeems John and the good he was doing before his arrest by turning lament into life. Injustice will be with us as long as there is humanity, the question is will we let it have the last word?
Why Hope?
In celebration of and thanksgiving for the life and ministry of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I thought I would try and distill a couple of reasons he gave for us to stay steadfastly hopeful.
Shine
We believe in a light that gives direction, clarity and warmth. A light that gives courage, comfort and enlarges community. A light that cannot be extinguished by religious calcification, political egocentrism or judicial dereliction.
Intervened
He came to us, half man half God. Welcomed by all creation but we could not find room for him at the inn. On his father’s side, he was a descendant of Jewish royalty. On his mother’s side, no pedigree at all.