storiesofvalue

Kingdom Heat Wave

Today the temperature in my town hit triple digits.  While heat can be oppressive, I actually prefer hot weather over cold.  I don’t mind sweating if you don’t mind the smell!

Ok, so I do try to respect social norms. Yet, I would much rather have sweat dripping from my chin than frostbite.  In the summer I can always cool off by jumping in the ocean, but I can’t warm up by diving in a snow bank.  Yup, give me triple digit heat over single digit cold anytime.

However, there is one kind of heat I don’t welcome: the kind produced by trouble and hardship.  When I perform a wedding ceremony, I usually explain how the fine metal in a wedding ring is produced by heat.  Extreme heat purifies and pushes the dross of foreign matter to the surface.  In the same way, a marriage that endures testing becomes stronger and more beautiful with time.  Trouble and hardship have a way of driving us deeper into the arms of people we love.  But at the time, it is still an unwelcome guest.

There is a kingdom heat produced by the testing of our faith.  Every time someone opposes us because of our love for Jesus, our walk with the Lord gets harder.  Some are physically persecuted for their faith, and others literally face the flames.  The Apostle Peter wrote, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. (1 Peter 4:12).  The word Peter uses for “painful” can also be translated “fiery.”  It is the kind of suffering that refines us for greater works.

When we fast-forward to the book of Revelation and reflect on the end of time, we discover the saints that have come through the great tribulation “shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; neither shall the sun beat down on them, nor any heat” (Revelation 7:16).  Thus, the heat that makes our Christian life difficult prepares us for a greater reward, and ultimately brings us to a place where there is no longer a need or cause for purification.

Contrast this process with the other option.  A life without trouble is unrealistic.  While we don’t invite trouble into our lives, we mustn’t run from it when sin challenges our convictions and evil tests our resolve.  Ultimately, if we refuse to engage in a walk with the Lord on any level, we could miss out on heaven.  Then we will experience a fire of punishment prepared for those who ignore God’s offer of salvation.

This means we will all face heat one way or another.  We will endure it on our way to heaven, or fan it on the way to hell.  I realize this statement makes us a bit uncomfortable.  But then, that’s the nature of heat.  The good news is we have the freedom to choose one over the other.

I’m not saying my preference for triple digit temperatures is justified.  If you prefer ice on our roadways, frozen skin and car locks that don’t work, there is nothing in the Bible that says you can’t have these things.  Well, there is that passage about the foolishness of man, but I would probably be taking it out of context if I applied it here.

But when it comes to our faith, we should definitely endure heat now so we can avoid it later.  We also experience great joy when we suffer for the name of Jesus.  Our joy isn’t found in suffering itself, but in the knowledge we are sharing in His work (1 Peter 4:13).

Tomorrow will be cooler than today.  At least that’s what the weather man is saying.  We can predict the weather, but we can’t foresee trouble with certainty.  All we know is, it will come, and when we face it with faith and courage, we will be blessed.  And yes, our blessing will involve the elimination of heat.

I guess I need to accept the fact not all of my favorite things will exist in heaven.

Kingdom Clichés

Clichés present an interesting challenge.  We avoid them because they are overdone, but we use them because they contain threads of truth.  And our conversation in the kingdom of God is no exception.

Clichés used in the Christian community are inspired by biblical truth, but also reflect a philosophical or theological bent.  Though flawed when held up against strict scrutiny, most are relatively harmless and can offer great comfort in a time of need.

Did you know, “God won’t give you any more than you can stand?”  Indeed the Apostle Paul once wrote, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” (1 Corinthians 10:13)  Where’s the flaw?  Well, none really, as long as we understand God calls people to be faithful unto death.  This means we might leave this earth in the course of standing up under temptation.  So from a purely human standpoint, unless Jesus comes first, we will all finally succumb to the forces of our worldly existence.  Yet, from an eternal perspective, God will always give us the strength to remain faithful to our last breath.

“God is good all the time!” and “All the time God is good.”  It was also Paul who told us, “…in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28)  This means there isn’t a single event in our lives God cannot incorporate into His ultimate plan and use for our good.  However, we must remember “good” is in the eyes of the beholder.  For example, God used the circumstances in the life of a dying criminal on a cross to bring him into contact with the grace of Jesus.  “Today you will be with me in paradise,” Jesus said.  Was death on a cross a good thing?  Was the man who reached out to Jesus suffering for doing good? I think not.  But God brought about good because of the dying criminal’s faith.

There are many others.  “You can’t out-give God,” “When God closes a door, he opens a window” and “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” to name a few.  Each of these is true in some ways and misleading in others.  The reason we can’t depend on them wholeheartedly is because they don’t possess a biblical context to help us interpret how they should be applied to our lives.  Rather, they come out of a human context and are vulnerable to manipulation for our own purposes.

So what are we to do?  Personally, I don’t think we should campaign against clichés or argue with people who use them when they are struggling with their faith.  But we should keep a couple of things in mind:

First, we should strive for honesty and never use a popular cliché to manipulate our circumstances.  When God closes a door, he does open a window.  However, the door He is closing might be the one He wants us to go through, and the window might be the very thing He wants us to avoid.  Are we giving to the kingdom because we think the God who can’t be out-given will give us a better return on our money than the market?  And have we settled difficult subjects of faith in our minds without examining the evidence for ourselves?

Secondly, it is important to keep our expectations in check.  Because clichés don’t have a context we often make assumptions about God’s promises that have little or no substance.  The God who told us He wasn’t going to allow us be tempted beyond our ability to resist didn’t say our illness wouldn’t return.  He didn’t set limits on our pain or heartache.  We need to be careful about projecting our personal desires on God and guard against creating expectations in others that have no foundation.

Ultimately, it is much better to root our hearts and minds in scripture than clichés.  Even scripture can be taken out of context, but at least we have a recourse if we need to cross-check our interpretations and applications with the written Word.

I suppose the kingdom of God is always going to have a repertoire of clichés.  And rightly understood, they can be a source of strength.  After all, “if something works, God must be in it.”

Right?

Kingdom Cut

For the past couple of weeks, I have been removing trees.  Well, actually, some people with chain saws and stump grinders have been doing the work for me.  Some gum trees were hanging precariously over my roof and their roots were moving toward my foundation.  So I had them extracted.

If you have ever had trees removed, you know the risks.  But there is also a risk associated with doing nothing.  Removing trees is expensive, but like a lot of things we put off doing, once it is done we usually wonder why we waited.

In the kingdom of God we are always growing.  Many of Jesus’ parables focused on the supernatural nature of this growth.  The mustard seed produces a plant that nestles the birds of the air in its branches.  A farmer who finds good spiritual soil will experience 30, 60 and 100 fold his investment.

However, the kingdom of God is also about cutting away what doesn’t belong.  Jesus cursed a fig tree because it wasn’t bearing fruit and He used the metaphor of the grape-vine to illustrate how God prunes away unproductive branches.

Years later, when the apostle Paul wrote his letters, he used the contrast of life and death to stress this same principle.  He encouraged the Colossians to “put to death” anything that belonged to their earthly nature (Colossians 3:5).  In Ephesians 4:22 he challenged his readers to “put off” the old self.

The growth process takes lots of hard work, but the cutting process involves pain and separation.  Our tree project was relatively uneventful, but it still stirred things up.  Squirrels’ homes were destroyed, birds were chased away from their perches and insects of every kind were cast to the wind.  It will take me all summer to restore the yard, and a few extra bucks to replace some fencing.  The tree company was extremely careful in their work, and I was amazed at the skill of the workers.  But there is always some collateral damage when you remove things that are as deeply rooted as trees.  Is it any wonder Jesus used nature to prepare us for the challenge of cutting old sinful habits out of our lives?

Most of us don’t like to talk about cutting things out of our lives.  A man who had a fairly pessimistic view of life once told me, “Everyone likes to talk about the positive.  No one ever talks about the negative.  That’s what I try to do.  I try to make sure everyone sees the negative.”  While I am not sure his approach to life was healthy for him, or others, I must admit he was correct in his observation.  We would much rather talk about what is going right in our lives, and avoid the things that are going wrong.

So let me give you another option.  I suggest when we cut things out of our lives that don’t belong, we are doing something positive.  Why wait until the hurricane arrives to remove dead branches and why let a rotten tree fall on our house when we can cut it down?  If a storm blew through our community and our house was the only one without damage because we removed some branches and trees, would that not be a positive?

Allow me to help you even more.  Did you know we all have sins that need to be removed from our lives?  We have thought processes and habits that keep pulling us back into our old selves.  And when we are falling backward, we aren’t moving forward.

People who are growing in the kingdom of God are people who are putting on the right things and putting off the wrong things.  They are putting forth branches and cutting off branches.

We all need an occasional kingdom cut.  Sometimes branches even come back and we have to cut then out again.  The possibilities for growth are limitless and the need for pruning is endless.  But as they say, “it’s all good.”  There is no reason why we should carry around dead weight when we need to be rising to the call of Christ.

Where do you plan on making your first cut?

Kingdom Confusion

I suppose I am simple-minded, but I prefer that good guys and bad guys be clearly identified.  In old westerns there is no confusion.  The good guys wear light clothing, are polite and caring, and don’t shoot to kill unless absolutely necessary.  The bad guys never comb their hair, wear masks, look for a fight with anyone, and don’t think twice about killing innocent people.

Star Wars movies follow the same basic rules.  Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo are personable, loyal and brave.  Darth Vader is evil to the core.  Well, maybe not to the core since he is redeemed at the end.  But you get the idea.

Yet, in these and many other classic films, someone evil is always trying to pass himself off as one of the good guys.  He does it to gain the trust of the angry and disenfranchised, and to use them for his destructive purposes.  It seems there is always someone around gullible enough to fall prey.

At the risk of sounding nostalgic, I remember a time when the church was the good guy and the world was the bad guy.  I don’t mean to suggest everyone loved the church.  For as long as I can remember people have attacked the church, and complained about preferential treatment for Christians.  But for the most part, the church was a friend of the community.  In fact, people moving to a new town wanted to be near schools, shopping centers and churches.

Things have changed.  Now neighborhoods sign petitions to prevent churches from building nearby, Christians are mocked regularly on television and social media, and a church building is a lightning rod for social activism.

Please don’t think I am not aware of some things the church has done to deserve its new status.  Televangelists and abusers did their part to get us here, as well as protesters who have spewed out hate in the name of Jesus.  If you are a follower of Jesus do you join me in cringing when a newscaster sticks a microphone in front of a Christian who is fighting for a cause?  We truly are our own worst enemy.

On the other hand, I am convinced we have given away too much ground to those who hated the church to begin with.  The sins of the church are unfortunate opportunities for those who reject morality, or wish to eliminate biblical values from our culture to go for the juggler.  It would be different if the rhetoric was delivered logically.  But for the most part the arguments against godly truth I hear are nothing more than deflections.  People accuse the church of being unloving and hypocritical.  They say, “Who are you to tell me how to live my life?”

Worst of all, believers in Jesus that are held accountable by brothers and sister in Christ, employ the same tactics.  They speak recklessly against the household of God and forget the people they are degrading are redeemed by the same blood and covered with the same grace.

I am very aware people who don’t worship Jesus do some very good things, and people who do worship Him do some very bad things.  But the Bible is pretty clear in drawing a distinction between those who are for God and those who are against Him.  John writes, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:2-3)

It is not my desire to live in a world where the church isn’t held accountable, no more than I want to live around others who aren’t held accountable for their actions.  But before we make the church the proverbial whipping post for everything we don’t like about our world, we need to think it through.  While the church has failed at times, the majority of educational institutions, hospitals, and relief organizations began as Christian missions.  It is also presumptuous to claim a world where no one tells us how to live is going to be better.  History tells us civility is based on one of two things: a moral belief that guides our actions, or an oppressive government that demands our obedience.  It is no surprise when the former lapses the latter fills in the void.

My point is that even as Christians we can lose sight of our core commitment to Christ.  We might say we just want to worship Jesus but we don’t like His church.  But how is this possible?  How can we say we love the groom and kick His bride to the curb?  Falling in with the world and attacking the church, or even relegating the church to a necessary inconvenience, is just another way of justifying a life where Jesus isn’t really that important anymore.  This is the spirit of the antichrist of which John writes.  It is what it is.

“Wait a minute.  I’m confused!”  Possibly…or perhaps it is time to define for ourselves what we mean when we say we love Jesus.

Kingdom Encouragement

In a few days we honor those who have died while serving in our country’s armed forces.  Memorial Day originated as Decoration Day, in memory of those who died in the American Civil War.  The name Memorial Day became official in 1967, and remains a reminder that freedom isn’t free.

One of the things people who have served our military on foreign soil often tell me is how important it is to know they are supported at home.  Perhaps it goes without saying that men and women, who are risking their lives so we can enjoy ours, deserve our appreciation.  However, we are so inoculated by our daily routines I don’t think we realize how the collective words and actions of our country affect those who are serving on the battlefield.

Please don’t misunderstand.  The very freedom others fight to defend affords the open expression of ideas, and the opportunity to voice a dissenting opinion.  Those making daily sacrifices for us in military operations around the world don’t want us to be like the “blind following the blind” Jesus referenced in the scripture (Matthew 15:14).  All they want is to know we love them, and see them as a part of our greater family, upholding the cause of freedom.

In a similar fashion, when a weekly time of church worship concludes and God’s kingdom disperses throughout the community, we need to realize we are still connected.  We want to be of one heart and mind, moved by the same mission: to seek and save the lost.

Did you know when we leave worship on Sunday we are headed into a spiritual battlefield?  Some go home to family members who are antagonistic toward God.  Others enter workplaces that can be ungodly and unethical.  The kingdom is made up of life savers, peace officers, merchants, managers, politicians and laborers of all sorts. As believers we are faced with dilemmas that try our faith, test our devotion and define our witness.

We need each other!  And we need to know we are thinking of each other as God works through us in the course of our day.

The Hebrews writer penned these words: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).  I like the fact the word “habit” is used here.  Our habits will eventually impact our values, and our view toward the kingdom.  We should also recognize, while the writer of Hebrews is reminding us of the importance of worshipping together, his eye is on the weekly dispersion as much as the regular gathering.  The reason we should not give up meeting together is because we need the encouragement of the church to remain faithful to the mission until we gather again.

Of course, encouragement is about more than just a pat on the back.  It also involves accountability, and on occasion a harsh rebuke or two.  I’ve never met a veteran who wasn’t thankful for an experienced warrior who drove him to succeed.  Sometimes we need to be driven, and sometimes we need to be lifted up.  But most of all, we need to know people love us and care about the parts of the body of Christ that enter the world every day to serve.

There are many ways we offer kingdom encouragement, and many people are involved in the effort.  As a preacher, I can’t encourage everyone, nor should I try.  And the church can’t have a program for everything.  In truth, it is up to all of us to take our responsibility to one another seriously, and encourage when we have the opportunity and see the need.

I don’t want someone risking his or her life for me on a battlefield to think for a moment I don’t care.  I know there will be times when they think otherwise because that’s the way the enemy works, but I want to try to avoid the perception.  And I don’t want my brothers or sisters in Christ to think they are alone in their mission.  The enemy will also try to discourage them, in spite of my efforts.  This means kingdom encouragement is imperfect and almost always incomplete.  But like anything upon which eternity hinges, it is necessary.  It is also everyone’s job.

How can you encourage a brother or sister today?

Kingdom Perspective

Jane’s alumni magazine from Mount St. Joseph University arrived today.  It contains a special tribute to Lauren Hill, the young woman who recently lost her battle with a rare form of brain cancer and used her platform to raise awareness and offer hope to others.

The disease is called “diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma” (DIPG).  Through her efforts, Lauren was able to raise 1.5 million dollars for The Cure Starts Now.  The Cure Starts Now supports research for childhood cancers, and the money Lauren raised will be used specifically for DIPG.

In the course of her campaign, Lauren was featured in a story by Sports Illustrated, appeared on a Wheaties box, was named one of the country’s most inspirational women by Glamour magazine, and had her jersey displayed by the NCAA in their national office lobby before this year’s tournaments.  She appeared on “The View”, ESPN, and in USA Today, and People Magazine.

In the alumni article Lauren is quoted as saying, “I’m spreading awareness on a level that’s never been spread before” – “I really hope its’ going to bring a change to the world.  Being able to have this opportunity is all I’ve wanted and prayed for.”

These last words struck me.  They are understandable, coming from someone who knew she had a terminal disease.  Lauren was thankful for the ability she had to help find a cure for her disease so others might someday survive.  But there is also a sense in which these words are so counter-cultural, they take me by surprise.  Our society quickly becomes self-absorbed in its trials, and doesn’t usually think of a terminal illness as an opportunity.

Yet, because kingdom people trust God to take care of what comes after this life, they can focus on whatever He might call them to do here and now, regardless of the circumstances.  This does not mean we should think for a moment trusting God relieves us of the pain and heartache associated with a terminal disease.  Although I do not know Lauren Hill or her family personally, I imagine they have passed through many dark valleys.  If the thought of a young woman’s life being cut so short seems tragic to us, then is must be incomprehensible to those who loved her.

But when God is on our side, we can look for an opportunity in everything.  We do so, not because we have been taught to think positively, but rather because we are confident God can bring good out of anything.  Perhaps you are familiar with Paul’s words in Romans 8:28: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  God can work through our pain, but ordinarily only when we become His willing vessels.  An opportunity is not a certainty.  It is a vehicle through which God works.  He is capable and willing if we are humble and open.

People like Lauren Hill inspire me because they remind me not to become discouraged if God allows me to experience trials in the process of following His Son Jesus.  In fact, the notion He might somehow use something unwanted in my life as a means of blessing others ought to motivate me.  I hope your life is free of tragedy.  And we must remember God uses our blessings to bless others too.  In every case, good or bad, God is working.

How do you view your circumstances?

Kingdom Creep

A few days ago a South Korean appellate court overruled a lower court’s sentence for Lee Joon-seok, increasing his sentence from thirty-six years to life in prison.  Lee was convicted of abandoning a sinking South Korean ferry in 2014 with more than 300 school children onboard.

The phrase, “The captain goes down with the ship” is more than a cliché.  There is a protocol for captains requiring them to aid passengers whose lives are at risk.  Failure to do so can result in manslaughter charges, and as in the case of the South Korean ferry captain, prosecution.  But even if there were no official regulation, this expectation would be self-evident.  When a good captain is faced with the possible death of passengers who have put their lives in his hands, he will risk his own life to save them.

Failure to fulfill one’s most basic duty is often a result of “mission creep.”  Boat captains don’t suddenly decide to neglect their passengers.  They “creep” into mediocrity and slowly lose a sense of urgency for the things that are most important.  The same is true of school bus drivers who have accidents while talking on their cell phones, security personnel who attend wild parties when they are supposed to be protecting government officials and parents who purposely leave children in hot cars while they go shopping.  All of these actions involve a slow progression of ever-increasing risk, while taking one’s eye off of the goal.

I don’t want to suggest grace isn’t available for any of us who make a terrible mistake resulting in great harm to others.  My goal is simply to point out how we drift from our priorities over time, eventually losing sight of our key responsibilities.

“Kingdom creep” takes place when followers of Jesus lose sight of their mission.  The mission of a Christian can be expressed in a number of ways.  Perhaps its simplest form comes from Jesus who said He had come to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10).  Jesus put His mission in the form of a command when He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 19:19-20).  When we draw others to Christ, we expand His kingdom and help fulfill His prayer: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

Why don’t I use the common term “mission creep” in reference to this great task?  I could, and do.  But by employing the “kingdom” word here, I am able to take our thoughts in a slightly different direction.  We are on a mission, but we are in a kingdom.  The mission is the task.  The kingdom is the reality of life in Christ.  When we forget to seek the kingdom first, it is possible to seek and save the lost, then fall into the trap of the Teachers of the Law who made converts “twice as much a son of hell” as themselves (Matthew 23:15).

“Kingdom creep” causes us to forget the church belongs to Jesus.  It fails to turn the reins of our hearts over to the One who reigns over us.  It turns the organism of the church into an organization and the heart of the gospel into high-stakes churchmanship.

Like “mission creep”, “kingdom creep” happens slowly, and we might not know it has happened until we make some major decisions based on what the world might think, or our personal desires, rather than the will of the One who sent us.  “Kingdom creep” takes us outside of Christ’s domain where we find ourselves dodging the darts of the evil one, and living out a lie.

Fight the creep.  Fulfill the mission and build the kingdom.  When you do, you will get everything else thrown in for free (Matthew 6:33).

Kingdom Hope

Events in the city of Baltimore have stirred a sense of hopelessness in our land.  It isn’t that we don’t have the resources to put communities back together, but we are terribly frustrated by our inability to solve the deeper social decay we see around us.

I am not qualified to discuss tactical methods for keeping the peace in challenging cities and neighborhoods.  But I do know the scriptures tell us hope cannot be buried by evil.  In the book of Revelation, a fifth seal was broken and John saw the souls of those who had been slain because of the Word of God, and because of their testimony (Revelation 6:9).  The souls cried out, “How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?”  Then they were each given a white robe and told to wait “a little while longer” (Revelation 6:11).

God is not mocked.  He will make sure justice is served.  But, since He has given man a free will, and in His wisdom chosen not to intervene every time wicked people do wicked things, we will also find ourselves crying out, “How long?”

“A little while longer…”

“Obviously, this phrase is figurative.  Almost two thousand years has passed since John first recorded his revelation.  If Jesus comes to exact justice a year from now, that might count as “a little while longer.”  But two thousand years is a long time.

For us, “a little while longer” is rarely any longer than four score and ten (Psalm 90:10).  While I am not sure how the souls who have been slain perceive time, I think the point isn’t how long it feels, but rather the inevitability of God’s final judgment.  When we are under stress, and circumstances seem hopeless, relief seems illusive.  Still, we have God’s eternal promises.  Therefore, we should not lose heart.

But enough about us!  People who are caught up in the cycle of poverty need hope.  Government leaders and law enforcement officers who feel like they are taking two steps backward for every step forward need hope.  Parents who feel they have failed with their children need hope.  And young people who are being told violence is the only answer need hope…real hope.

I know you might expect me to say Jesus is the hope people need.  And you would be correct.  He is.  Only, He has chosen to work through His church to deliver His message.  Please don’t think me sacrilegious in saying so, but God hasn’t given us a “church fairy” that brings hope to the world.  And no, the Holy Spirit isn’t the “church fairy.”

You and I are God’s messengers of hope.  Followers of Jesus who walk with hurting people in their communities have the potential of keeping hope alive.  I am not talking about a temporary hope inspired by clichés, but one built on the cross.  Jesus offers living hope for a dying world because He restores hope to human souls by washing them clean and filling them with grace.

Now, more than ever, the world needs hope.  I am not defeated by events in cities like Baltimore.  I am discouraged, and certainly disappointed.  But nothing will ever extinguish the hope of the cross.  And as long as there is breath in us, God is calling us share His hope with a lost and dying world.

By the way, you don’t have to go to a riot-torn city to find hopeless people.  They are all around you.  And they all need Jesus.  Share a little hope today with someone you meet!  It might be the only thing they hear that keeps their hearts alive.

Kingdom Architecture

A few years ago Jane and I saw our first real castle in Warwick, England.  The Warwick Castle was begun in 1068 and remains one of the best examples of medieval architecture in the world.  Its location next to the River Avon creates a striking view.

When they were constructed castles provided protection, but they also projected power and wealth.  No self-respecting king would be without one.

So how is the kingdom of God represented on earth, architecturally speaking?  I have seen a few church buildings with castle-like features.  The Gothic style, developed in northern France during the latter part of the medieval period, was used in the construction of great churches throughout Europe.  Today, we can find examples of the same in some of America’s biggest cities.  And occasionally a Gothic hint will show up in modern church structures.

It probably isn’t necessary to point out there are no architectural plans for church buildings in the Bible.  The early church was not inclined to pronounce its ministry with physical structures, but instead preferred safe havens such as house churches and catacombs.

Yet, shouldn’t a kingdom and a king have a castle, or something like it?  Absolutely!  But how do we know what it should look like?

Well, actually, there is no one style.  In fact, presently there are over seven billion possibilities.  That’s right.  Staggering isn’t it?

Alright, by now you have certainly discerned I am talking about a different kind of building.  In Luke 17:20-21 we read, ‘Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”’

How is the kingdom of God within us?  It enters our lives when we choose to follow Jesus as our Lord and King.  Jesus reigns when we identify with His death, burial and resurrection through baptism (Romans 6).  Our sins are washed away and we become kingdom people.

Therefore, kingdom architecture is the being that has been redeemed by Jesus and inhabited by the Holy Spirit.  The Apostle Paul writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV)

The good news is, unlike church buildings, we don’t have to pay utilities on our bodies.  We do have medical bills, and we require a daily supply of food and water.  Come to think of it, in the long-run our temples of the Holy Spirit might cost more to maintain than material church facilities.

But can a material structure walk around town?  Can it enter a workplace, love a family, reach out to a neighbor and stop to help a stranded motorist?  Does it think, speak and act?  Does a church building made of brick and mortar know how to show compassion, bear other’s burdens, or forgive its enemies?  The answer, of course, is “no.”  But those who have offered their bodies as living sacrifices can (Romans 12:1-21).

If Christ is in you, you are kingdom architecture.  Everywhere you go, the kingdom goes with you, and everyone who meets you has an opportunity to see the King up-close.  I suppose this reality will suggest different things to different people.  As for me, I am going to evaluate my first impressions.  Who knows?  I might be someone else’s first kingdom castle.

Kingdom Spring

This year I planted bulbs.  On a recent trip to Michigan Jane and I purchased some Tulip bulbs, and not long ago a friend gave us some Iris bulbs.  So I planted them.  I procrastinated and didn’t get them into the ground until mid-winter.

But they grew!  Well, at least most of the Iris bulbs and one Tulip grew.  The other Tulip bulbs were eaten by demonic squirrels.

My late planting and the unfortunate attack of the murderous squirrels only made the emergence of life all the more miraculous.  But this is the nature of plants.  It seems, given a chance, they are able to overcome incredible odds.

Years ago my mother used to sing a song called, “I Believe in Miracles”.  One line of the song said, “I’ve seen the Lilly push its way up through the stubborn sod.  I believe in miracles, because I believe in God.”  I realize by some definitions the natural life cycle of a Lilly, as a part of the natural forced God put in place at creation, is not technically a miracle.  A miracle is usually defined as something God does that operates outside of the processes He has already established.  Still, in light of the obstacles my poor bulbs faced in their quest for sunlight, I will say their success is miraculous, metaphorically speaking.

Kingdom life occurs in much the same way.  It comes to those who are dead in their sins.  It springs from the heart of the atheist and agnostic.  I have seen God’s kingdom come to life in the most unlikely people in the most hostile environments, at the most unpredictable times.  I call it “kingdom spring”, when the dark shadows imposed by the evil one give way to the glorious light of Christ.

In a letter to the Colossian church, the Apostle Paul wrote “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)  Jesus became sin for us, died, was planted in a tomb and rose to proclaim victory over sin and death.  We are united with Him in baptism, our old self is crucified and we are raised to life.

The High Priest and Pilate thought they could keep Jesus in the ground.  But He broke the bonds of death…the proverbial stubborn sod.  Death could not hold Him.  Sin could not crush Him.  He rose, and Satan went down.

At the risk of being sentimental and losing good doctrinal sense, I must say the natural spring we experience after a hard winter reminds me of the power of my risen Lord.  After many years of watching plant life emerge from the dormant earth, I am still amazed at the wonder of it all.  In like fashion I think of my risen Lord, whose victory over death was indeed a miracle.

And if He can rise to a new life, I am confident God can raise this dead soul and make him new.  My spring came once and for all, and the Holy Spirit keeps me growing perpetually.  His life fills me and promises me life eternal.  I too have seen the Lilly…or the Iris and the Tulip… push its way up through the stubborn sod.  I do believe in miracles.  I believe in God.