The O.C. Supertones have a song titled "Wilderness". Part of the lyrics are, "I’m somewhere in-between Canaan and Egypt A place called the wilderness I’m not one who always trusts their feelingsI don’t believe in what you’d call blind faith But faith that you can do all that you promised And you said it all works for good It’s safe to say I don’t see the big picture I can’t see the forest for the trees."
As I was writing an assessment of our church for one of my classes, this song came to mind. The following is what I wrote in my paper:
Finally, I would like to call the church to not be content with mediocrity. It is easy to come to church every week, participate in activities, even teach a Sunday school class, but to miss out on the greater vision of the Kingdom of God. I believe that we are stuck in the wilderness between Canaan and Egypt. We are no longer in slavery and we may even thank God from time to time for freeing us, yet we choose then to sit and complain in the wilderness, staying in the desert versus entering into the promise land. It is easy to hope for growth and complain about the lack of commitment of members, however, if we actively pursue Canaan and the Kingdom of God, we will be fulfilling God’s purpose in the world. The end goal is not more programs and meetings; it is to love God and neighbor and to make disciples.
I believe that too often our faith is too small. Do we really believe that God will do all that He promised? It seems to me that if we really believe in the Kingdom and that God will be with us in all that we do, then we will be active in pursuing the bringing of the Kingdom to earth as Jesus prayed in Matthew 6. Instead, though, we hang out in the wilderness, in this place of mediocrity. We have the potential for something great, something beautiful, but we are afraid of taking risks so we just sit around. We don't see the big picture, we allow ourselves to be blinded by the trees, not seeing the forest. We become involved in so many programs, so many "good Christian" kinds of things (which really makes me quite sick, the idea that going to church, giving money, baking cookies for VBS, etc are the ways that we get to heaven)that we miss out on the Kingdom of God. These things in and of themselves are not bad at all, it is when we allow them to blind us, when we become so caught up in them that we miss out on loving God and neighbor, essentially bringing the Kingdom to earth.
I want my life to reflect an active and passionate pursuit of the Kingdom. I am not okay with hanging out in the wilderness, living in fear of change, living in fear of the presence of God. I choose Canaan. I choose to enter into the presence of God in my daily life by pursuing His agenda in this world by acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with my God.
4 comments:
Wow I almost forgot other people were on this blog!!! jk
Well atleast it was a good post! I totally agree. I once heard a speaker, at ladies retreat actually, that said, "If satan can't make you sin, he'll make you busy," or something to that affect. I know the quote doesn't fit perfectly with what you were saying but, I think getting "plugged in" to a ministry can be sometimes more counter productive to the Kingdom than helpful. I don't know where I am going with this. i've been thinking so hard the past few days that it is hard for me to think a thought all the way through.
Anyway, I really like that song.
So I have been reading Shane Claiborne's book, Jesus for President and today I can across the following paragraph that applies to my post last night.
"This little group(the Isrealites, God's chosen people) continued to return to the patterns of the nations and fall short of the dream of God. They never fully entered the Promised Land. But God didn't give up. God will give them a fresh vision of the Promised Land, which they will come to know as the Kingdom of God on earth. God's son will embody all that Israel was meant to be. He will gather a people who will embody that hope for the world. God has had enought of the messes of empires and kings. Indeed, it's time for a different kind of king and a different kind of empire. The Prince of Peace, the royal Son comes to earth. To triumph? We'll see...."
i strongly disagree just because people are "passive" does not mean that they aren't trying. although i do agree with loving god and all that, we as Christians must also take care of ourselves. your simplistic take on the christian life, although appealing, is impractical. i feel that you are out of line. how do you propose we reach people without being involved in "programs". you seem to be bitter and misinformed. i also feel that you should think through your post before posting them.
=)
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