Upside Down Kingdom
The grittiness of a 'Jesus is Lord' gospel.
Better said, God's kingdom is the right-side-up one. In the Beatitudes (Matt. 5), Jesus says God's favor is on the humble, the mourning, the gentle and kind, those who seek the repair of unjust systems, the merciful, the innocent, the peacemakers, and the oppressed. His kingdom consists of self-giving to God and neighbor. It's something Paul echoes in 1 Cor. 13, and details in Gal. 5. The challenge is to turn this from a religious abstraction to daily discipleship, to deny myself, take up my cross every day, and follow Jesus' lead, along with others in my church family.
Suited Up
Tearing down strongholds through love and rectification.
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. — 2 Corinthians 10:4
This morning I ran in the rain. I was surprised and heartened to see so many others out in raincoats, facing the weather, walking their dogs. I think this is what Paul calls for in Ephesians 6. We suit up in clothing that disciples of Jesus wear, and face the world's strongholds: systems of hatred, bondage, and every kind of injustice.
Syllabus
Jesus must be the go-to guy.
...teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you... — Matthew 28:20a
It's tempting to teach people how to live Biblical lives. It sets me up as an authority—a master. But Jesus calls us to make disciples of him, to teach people to observe (keep, obey, guard) his commands. My primary job is to point people to Christ and tell them to obey everything he says. If they can't figure it out or don't understand, I can help. But Jesus must be centered. After all, the whole canon of scripture testifies about him.
- love
- Holy Spirit
- humility
- church
- politics & society
- mission & witness
- holiness
- parable & metaphor
- identity
- eternal life
- doubt & deconstruction
- leadership
- grace
- justice
- scripture
- spiritual life
- advent & christmas
- poverty & compassion
- imagination & creativity
- technology & ai
- knowing God
- human dignity
- faith & trust
- incarnation & cross
- kingdom of God
- community
- reconciliation
- spiritual formation
- epistemology
- prayer
- gratitude
- culture
- creation & nature
- discipleship
I practice the spiritual discipline of rescuing earthworms on paved surfaces. It's a reminder to me that I can pause what I'm doing, get a little dirty, and help. Also, that I've been given the responsibility to care.