Thursday, August 30, 2012

The Kingdom of Heaven


“The Kingdom of Heaven” starring Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and a few more that I can’t remember is one of my favorite movies.  As the title implies it is loosely referring to the ancient city of Jerusalem.  The movie is set during the time of the Crusades when there was constant warring over who had control of the Holy City of David.  The sad thing is that all the fighting, battles, blood shed, and lives lost were for control of LAND.  It was the ground, the walls, and the literal location that the city existed upon that was important to the warring parties.  But it was Orlando Bloom’s character, Balian, who was one of the few who understood that it wasn’t the City, the walls, or the dirt that was important; rather it was the lives...the souls...the people that lived within the city that were of most importance.  In the end Balian surrenders Jerusalem to the invading Muslim army with the promise of sparing every single life contained within the city walls.

In the movie, the real “Kingdom of Heaven” was an idea of existence in peace, protecting the lives of those who couldn’t protect themselves.  Loving and caring for all people no matter their race, creed, orientation, social status, or economic status.  And there were but a few who actually understood this passion, one of whom being Balian.  It’s interesting to me how similar this idea sounds to the teachings of one Jesus Christ.  If you notice in the Bible, Jesus’ love showed ZERO preference no matter who he was around.  But, when his actions seemed to show preference, it was usually towards the down and out, the rejected by Jewish society.  Throughout the Bible we see a prominent theme and that is to love those who are unloved, to have compassion on the persecuted, to care for the sick and undeserving, to LOVE ALL especially the least of all.

Jesus’ followers believed that he came to establish a new Kingdom on earth where he would reign as King, “the New David”, and that this kingdom (“The Kingdom of Heaven”) of which Jesus talked about so often would last forever here on earth.  The problem was that Jesus’ followers assumed he was here to establish an earthly Kingdom, but ALL earthly Kingdoms have expiration dates.  Rather, Jesus came to establish an eternal Kingdom one that wasn’t about land, territory, cities, walls, power, or any of the other highly esteemed values of Kings and nobles. Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven is focused on the people.  Jesus said things like: “the Kingdom of God belongs to [the children]” Mark 10; “the last shall be first” Mark 10; “Love your enemies and pray for them” Matthew 5; “Love your neighbor (meaning ‘all others’) as yourself” Matthew 19; “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” John 15.  Jesus’ focus was on people; Jesus came for the lives, for the souls, and for the eternity of God’s creation.  On our own, because of our sin, we were the enemies of God, but God sent Jesus to die for the sins of HIS enemies.  That has nothing to do with the pleasures and pursuits of the world and everything to do with LOVE.  The Kingdom of Heaven is about lives, not land; people, not power; eternity, not empires.  And because this is what the King is about, it is what we, his people should be about. 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

We were made to Love


The love for equals is a human thing–of friend for friend, brother for brother. It is to love what is loving and lovely. The world smiles. The love for the less fortunate is a beautiful thing–the love for those who suffer, for those who are poor, the sick, the failures, the unlovely. This is compassion, and it touches the heart of the world. The love for the more fortunate is a rare thing–to love those who succeed where we fail, to rejoice without envy with those who rejoice, the love of the poor for the rich, of the black man for the white man. The world is always bewildered by its saints.  And then there is the love for the enemy–love for the one who does not love you but mocks, threatens, and inflicts pain. The tortured’s love for the torturer. This is God’s love. It conquers the world.
From The Magnificent Defeat by Frederick Buechner

God has a specific purpose that he wants all of us to seek and strive for.  In 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 Paul writes:

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but the Same God works all of them in all men.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”

God has given us all very specific gifts for the purpose of doing what he has called each of us to specifically do for His Kingdom.  That fact has always been present in my life and it has been the number one thing I have always wanted to do and fulfill. 

However, over the last few years if there is anything I have learned: I have learned that I was made for love.  I am much more aware now than ever before that the FIRST & MOST important calling that God has placed upon ALL our lives is to LOVE and love unconditionally.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37-40 that the greatest commandment of all is “Love the Lord with ALL your heart, soul, and mind.  And the second is love your neighbors as much as and more than you love yourself” (my paraphrase).  To love God and love others (meaning ALL people) IS the greatest calling we have as Christians, period.  It’s not about denominations, programming, style of music, traditions, income, hopes, dreams, or anything else that WE think is important.  Life is about loving God and loving all people: rich, poor, fortunate, unfortunate, ally, enemy, etc; it makes no difference.  Love God and Love Others; THAT is why we do what we do, because that is the action that will truly change the world, or as Buechner puts it “conquer the world.”

Monday, August 20, 2012

The Ministry of Your Heart


I wrote this back in June 2008...I really enjoy looking back and reading what I wrote and comparing that to where I am now.  I hope you enjoy this as well. 

-1 Thessalonians 2:19-20-
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?  Is it not you?  Indeed, you are our glory and joy. 
I believe that God has planted within each and every one of us a passion and a love.  There are many things we desire to do in life, but there is something that simply tugs at the heart of a child of God.  For some people it is the ministry of compassion, for others it is the ministry of teaching, and still others simply love to serve without being seen.  We all have a ministry that we will take part in no matter how much or little free time we have to give.  My point here is simply to pose a couple questions: 

First, what is the ministry of your heart?  The ministry of Paul’s heart was the spread of the gospel and the souls of those he came into contact with.  What is that one thing you cannot say “No” to; not because of who is asking, but because of what is being asked of you?  It is possible that you may not know yet and that is okay.  It can take time to understand what really “fuels your fire.”  Take some time to think about this question: what is the ministry of your heart?  To help you understand maybe you need to ask these questions: What stirs your emotions faster and bigger than anything else?  Where do your passions lie?  What gets you really excited?  What is the one thing you would do to better this world if money and resources were non-issues?  These and other questions like these may help you to find the “ministry of your heart”.  Pray that God would reveal this to you in the days to come. 

Second, what are you doing about that ministry?  Many times in church we get comfortable enjoying the food we are fed in the Worship Service, in Sunday School, in Small Group, etc; we enjoy the fellowship that we have with others during those times as well.  The problem is we often forget about the hours of service that goes into making those times of Worship, Learning, and Fellowship happen.  If you have a cause or a purpose tugging at your heart, if you feel the Holy Spirit prodding you to join a ministry; don’t hesitate!!  If there is a ministry you want to serve, please find someone in that ministry and make that desire known.  If you simply want to serve, but don’t know where God has called you to; make that desire known to your church leadership.  They can try to help you find your place of service. 

There is always room for more servants in the church, where will you serve; who or what will be your glory when Jesus returns?  Find a place to serve, jump in with all your heart, and God will reward you much more richly than you could ever imagine.