How dangerous do you want to be? This was the question of the day today as John talked about the revolutionary ways Jesus established God's kingdom. It really is fascinating to take a closer look into how he communicated and lived against the political powers of Rome and Herod in particular. The power of their day set out to create a culture of threat...each and every day Jews were oppressed with threats. Threats create fear...fear over time leads people to isolation. This was the life of a common citizen in Jesus' day. Fear of Ceasar and his kingdom and isolation from the the relationship and life (kingdom) their God had created for them. Until Jesus began to fip things upside down... until he began to talk about a new kingdom...one that held no threats, but rather freedom, love and relationship.
The other day I drove past a church that had one of those traditional church signs out front near the street. You know that kind of sign I'm talking about...these church signs that always seem to have some catchy phrase on it ("come to church today and God will turn your frown up-side-down" I actually saw this once.). I hate these signs! They're cheesey, uneffective and sometimes threatening. This particular sign read, "The Kingdom of God is near...are you ready?". The problem I had with this sign is that it was used as a threat. I'm tired of pastors and churches using using God's Kingdom as a way to scare people into heaven! The fact is, the Kingdom of God is already here...Jesus brought this kingdom into effect and it has never left us! To make God's Kingdom sound like some sort of apocolyptic, repent or die kind of thing is wrong. It's wrong because that's a threat and threats create fear and isolation. When we enter into the revolution and give our lives to doing all we can to bring heaven to earth, there is no fear, there can be no isolation, because we're living lives that have been set free by the grace and mercy of God. So, if you we want to live dangerously for Jesus...get ready for freedom like you've never experienced before. Prepare for love and generosity that will change our homes and schools and workplace's. We can do this...God will help us...
I don't know about you but I think I want to be very, very dangerous!
Peace and Love,
Rex
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