In the new heaven and earth, beyond this life, beyond this world, there will be some things now that simply cannot stand. Injustice, greed, laziness, judgment, unkindness, etc. will be exposed, called what they are, and destroyed.
It has made me consider what is inside me now that will not stand in the economy of God's new kingdom. As a sort of confession, I offer these attitudes and actions that must be redeemed, if I am to be a part of God's kingdom:
1. My desire for comfort, which often comes at the expense of other.
2. My laziness when confronted with the need to work in God's kingdom. [For example, when someone in need comes to me, do I put in the least amount of effort I can get away with, and then usher them away, or do I really invest my time, energy, and resources into getting to know them, and helping them along their way?]
3. My sarcasm and cynicism. [Yikes. Will words even come out of my mouth, if all the sarcasm and cynicism is taken away? Sad to see the true state of affairs in my inner world.]
4. My desire to put myself first, think of myself first, accomplish my agenda first, and get my task list done first.
The other problem is this: The Kingdom of God is at hand. Meaning, if I am to partner with God in the ongoing work of His redemptive and creative purposes, these things cannot stand NOW. Not some day, sometime in heaven, but NOW. When I display these behaviors and think these thoughts, I am outside the Kingdom of God NOW. I am working at odds with the good, beautiful, powerful, saving efforts of God NOW.
Heaven is here. Time to act like it.
No comments:
Post a Comment