Today is the day we celebrate the incarnation of Christ, the Son of God. But let’s not stop with the Jesus that makes us feel good inside, because Jesus never limited his message or mission to our internal condition. He prayed:
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And do not bring us to the time of trial,
but rescue us from the evil one. Matt 6:9-13
When we think of the birth of Jesus, it’s not hard to focus on the heaven aspects of what Christ represents. But we all too easily forget that he mentions heaven not as a contrast to what we’re suffering through now, but as an example of what should be done on earth, in the present.
Tim Jolin has been kindling my thinking lately in regards to church, mission, and kingdom. Having found the congregation as a less-than-satisfying focal point for our work as Christians in Seattle, I’m looking for a concept to organize my efforts and thinking around, and I believe the kingdom of God may be just that concept. Jesus didn’t tell us to grow and multiply our churches, and he didn’t tell us to develop systematic theologies. He told us to pray that God’s will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.
May God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven this Christmas and throughout the year.
A very merry and blessed Christmas for you and those you love.
This is a pretty significant area of tension. An issue I have in making sense of the Kingdom as a focal point is the baggage I’ve got surrounding it (sunday school felt boards with castles on clouds). Or perhaps it’s the lack of knowledge and experience I have regarding the Jewish expectation of the Kingdom. While I sense that our purpose as followers of Christ is to participate in the Kingdom, this knowledge doesn’t clear up the practical question of day-to-day living.
I’ve been really impacted by George Ladd’s theology of the Kingdom. He’s got a nifty little book titled _The Gospel of the Kingdom_ which is really helpful here.
Ladd and N. T. Wright have both been helpful on this topic.
Grace and peace!
Pat, thanks for the reference to Ladd. I’ll check out his book.