Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Now but not yet (3)

Having watched some of the Murdoch's grilling at the House of Commons Committee, it got me reflecting on the Kingdom of God once again. One of the things that stuck me as I listened was the sense of judgement (on all sides) that had already preceded and that is surely still to come. The question for News International is: Has there past caught up with them?

The question for me: Is it the same for me when I meet my maker in Heaven? Is it a case of my past being trawled over by God and his courts of Angel's. Will my past catch up with me, how will his judgement work out? Will I be questioned as to what I knew and didn't know? Or will God have already "wiped the slate clean" and embrace me despite my considerable failings. Maybe these are the wrong questions to be asking about heaven and our potential admittance. I wonder if by starting with the ending in sight we find ourselves in a blind alley. Surely the kingdom that is yet to come is not about what we have or haven't done?


I am in agreement with Rob Bell (in Love Wins) when he highlights that those who are more concerned with who will get into heaven are less concerned with helping people discover that heaven is here on earth, right now. And so we come back to considering a kingdom that is "now" and "already here." It can not simply be used as promise for a future time. Why can't the riches and beauty of heaven become a daily reality in our lives and in the lives we interact with?

In the promise of the kingdom to come we must reveal a kingdom that is already clearly in view.

Matt

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