Inbreaking Kingdom (Justice, Mercy, Humility)

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:31–37 ESV

God put on flesh and blood, became one of us -- fully man, and still fully God -- his parents named him Jesus. He grew up, and then when he was around 30 years old publicly announced why he had come, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” “The Kingdom of God is breaking in -- through me.”  “God’s rule and his reign are breaking in to the kingdom of darkness and death.” 

Old Testament prophets had shared visions of what this Kingdom would look like, no more death, no more disease, no more hopelessness, God dwelling with his people, partnering with them as Kingdom co-laborers, all things restored to the perfect harmony that was intended before the fall. “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” Jesus announced. One day it will come in full, but for now it will co-exist with the kingdom of darkness and death. He walked his remaining days on earth as a King in peasant clothes, fully embodying what it means for people to act with God in his Kingdom. And then he left us to return claim his rightful thrown. He left us, not abandoned, but empowered, agents, ambassadors, bringing his Kingdom ethics to the places of hunger, thirst, nakedness, sickness and imprisonment -- to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our King. 

As he prepared to return to his throne, the King looked at his kingdom partners and and issued a Kingly proclamations:  Know that I have been given complete authority to rule the Kingdom of God -- I am in control, even when the competing Kingdoms seem to be. Never forget this, keep this truth and let it fuel you. And as you go -- far and near -- invite people into my Kingdom, initiate them and welcome them into my Kingdom with baptism into a new identity in all that I am - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Apprentice my new citizens in the ways of my Kingdom, help them and journey with them as you and they live into their new citizenship. As you do this, remember that you are not alone, even though I leave, I am always with you, forever.  Matthew 28:18–20 (My paraphrase)

We serve a very real King of a very real Kingdom, that breaks into the kingdoms of darkness and death, bringing light, life and hope. And it does so through us.  

Peace, hope, love

Doug 

Justice - Kingdom

“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”  Micah 6:8

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”  Matthew 23:23

At Creekside, we are spending the month of January talking about God's heartbeat (command and requirement) that we do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with him. The language of Micah is translated as "what the Lord requires." While it is true that he "requires" his followers to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with him, his requirement is not a requirement in the sense of "do these acts and we are good," "check off this box and you are done." Instead, God wants us to be filed with his goodness, his love and his peace. God wants us to so experience him that we learn to deeply trust him for our future and our present, our provision and our safety. The word that we read as "require," is the Hebrew word "darash"which means, loosely, to seek and question and make inquiry about a thing. God, you see, is concerned with justice and mercy and humility. He is also deeply concerned with you. God seeks and questions and makes inquiry about how fully you are connected into who he is, into his character and thus into his story. God knows that our tendency is to be connected first and most fully into who we are and into our story. He also knows -- because he designed and created us -- that this natural tendency will always result in a life that is not lived to its fullest, a life that does not ultimately fulfill us, and robs us of our standing as image bearers of him. Jesus summed up this reality when he said, "Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.” (Mark 8:35) 

When we surrender ourselves to God, the author and sustainer of life itself he walks alongside of us in humility. He gives us a love of mercy and he changes us from the inside out, so that we see the world as he sees it, a world crying out for justice. Seeing the world in this way we cannot help but step forward as image bearers of God to do and seek and advocate for justice and restoration. 

But it does not happen overnight. It is a process of the Inward, Outward and Together rhythms of discipleship. It is not merely an internal transformation for which we must wait before we do justice. Neither is it merely a command to move outward. Rather, it is an invitation, individually and as a Kingdom community, to do and be both -- Inward, Outward, Together. God's call is to be disciples of our King Jesus, acting in the world and facilitating the breaking in of his Kingdom into dark and unjust places in our world. God seeks and questions and inquires of us -- he invites us -- into the life that he has shown us, to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.

- how does this strike you?

- what questions does it raise?

- what emotions does it stir?

- what might be your next step?

Think and talk about these questions, with me and with others. 

Peace, hope and love

Doug

What Does God Really Want?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:1)

Many of you are familiar with the words from Micah 6:8, above. There is even a song we used to sing at church whose words were simply those two sentences repeated over and over again. (If you grew up with that song, it is probably going through your head right now, and will be for some time - you’re welcome). Fewer people are familiar with the words and the context which proceed that that verse. Fewer still have taken time to really unpack what it means to live them out, to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with God.  

What God is telling his people -- through the prophet -- is that he does not need sacrifices. Instead, they need a heart change. They need the internal transformation that only comes from a realization of who God is and what he had done for them; through his deep love for them demonstrated through justice, mercy and humility. Without that, they would be forever separated from him, forever separated from Shalom, enslaved and without hope . . . and so would we. 

When God’s reality begins to dawn within us, we cannot help but to be humbled as we realize His great love for us. As we begin to internalize His deep love for us, we will irresistibly be drawn to a way of life that reflects our savior’s heart of loving mercy, his passion to right the wrongs that break his heart. As we walk with him and live in his ways we will begin to become vessels of justice, mercy and humility in a world in deep need of all three. We will be able to live the way that he requires. As we do this, God promises -- through the prophet Isaiah -- that, “your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I will give you a full life in the emptiest of places— firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.” (Isaiah 58:10–11 MESSAGE)

Peace, hope and love

Doug