Last week we officially crossed the line from one season to another. Of course, given the dramatic change in temperature, that’s probably not surprising. And now that we’re officially in the season of summer, which means we can officially do summer kind of stuff, like firing up the grill, heading to the beach (or another body of water), and of course, complaining about the heat. I mean, summer isn’t near; it’s here.
And you know, I think that also applies to the Kingdom of God. According to the Evangelist Luke, Jesus said, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.” [Luke 21:29b-31, CEV] Well, as I look out into the world, I can see leaves sprouting and fruit setting. In other words, I can see God’s Holy Spirit empowering Christians to do what they’ve been called and equipped to do. And I can see believers taking seriously the command to love both God and neighbor. And I can see brothers and sisters who are standing up and speaking out for the very people who will determine how the nations are judged, and I’m talking about the hungry and the thirsty, the stranger and the naked, the sick and the prisoner. In other words, from where I sit, the season has changed and the Kingdom of God is growing from the size of a mustard seed into something that can change the world. And that’s exciting.
But what’s even more exciting is this: we can choose to live in a way that reflects this emerging reality. You see, because summer is already here and the rule of God is growing up all around us, we can join with our fellow believers to become everything we’ve been empowered to be. And we can decide that we’re going to be guided by love and compassion and mercy even though there are plenty in our world who seem to believe that mercy is foolish and that compassion shows weakness and that love must be limited. And we can add our voices to all those who live as though they actually believe Jesus Christ when he said that, on Judgement Day, those nations which are going to receive the kingdom that was prepared for them before the world was created, they will hear the judge say, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” [Matthew 25:40b, CEV] And for me, that’s really exciting.
Without a doubt, we’ve entered summer; therefore, it just seems right to buy some charcoal and a new bathing suit and maybe an air conditioner. And you know, since the Kingdom of God is present right here and now, maybe it’s also right to come together and to practice love and to stand up and speak out for those who are often silent and unseen. You see, that just might make sense, since the season has changed.
No comments:
Post a Comment