Recognizing that our world is upside down and spinning out of control is pretty easy to do, and pointing out that things aren’t right is also pretty easy. Today’s culture of outrage has many people shouting, “This should not be!” and a wide variety of solutions in the form of, “This is the way things should be!”-but this stops short of what Jesus intends for his followers to do. In fact, the proclamation of the gospel is that all things are being made right already!
The entire message of the Scripture is upside down, where God raises up the lowly and the humble and brings life, peace, and justice into impossible and hopeless situations. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the life and ministry of Jesus, where the Messiah gave Himself up to be crucified; but when He rose from the grave, He founded a new earthly Kingdom and sent out His followers to proclaim to the ends of the world that Jesus is King and that all things are being made right in Him.
The challenge for us as His followers proclaiming the gospel is to not love the things of the world more than the Kingdom of Jesus that is overcoming it. Jesus has called His followers to live differently, just as He did. Our lives are supposed to look strange to the people around us. The way we use our resources, spend our free time, and treat one another should not make sense to our coworkers and neighbors. My prayer is that the world will see how the church lives and know that it is not possible without a living God and the power of the Holy Spirit. We know that the world isn’t right, but we also know that Jesus is making it right; our call is to live as the people that Jesus is using to draw the world to Him.
James Walker
The entire message of the Scripture is upside down, where God raises up the lowly and the humble and brings life, peace, and justice into impossible and hopeless situations. Nothing illustrates this more clearly than the life and ministry of Jesus, where the Messiah gave Himself up to be crucified; but when He rose from the grave, He founded a new earthly Kingdom and sent out His followers to proclaim to the ends of the world that Jesus is King and that all things are being made right in Him.
The challenge for us as His followers proclaiming the gospel is to not love the things of the world more than the Kingdom of Jesus that is overcoming it. Jesus has called His followers to live differently, just as He did. Our lives are supposed to look strange to the people around us. The way we use our resources, spend our free time, and treat one another should not make sense to our coworkers and neighbors. My prayer is that the world will see how the church lives and know that it is not possible without a living God and the power of the Holy Spirit. We know that the world isn’t right, but we also know that Jesus is making it right; our call is to live as the people that Jesus is using to draw the world to Him.
James Walker
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