Thoughts
Take my eyes and let them see 'Going to heaven' isn't really good enough as a description of the
Christian hope.... 'New heavens and new earth' is what we are promised - and
God has already launched that project with Jesus. God's kingdom isn't 'from'
this world, but it is certainly for this world. Our ultimate hope is to be
raised from the dead to share in the running of God's new creation. And all
that we do by way of Christian, Spirit-led work in the present is a genuine
foretaste of that. When we work for the poor, or for victims of a disaster,
or whatever, we are not oiling the wheels of a machine that will then drive
over a cliff. We are not 'building the kingdom' by our own efforts. Only God
does that. But we are building for the kingdom. And that has to be done...
in very practical ways at the local level. |