Beautiful messes

Christians don’t like mess much, not in our world and especially not in ourselves or our churches. Somewhere along the line, we have embraced a picture of a Jesus who would turn us into perfect people unpolluted by the world or our own sin. But He didn’t. In Him we are new creations; in ourselves we are dump dwellers. Longing for our full redemption, we strive to please Him and groan in our fallenness and bask in His beauty. For whatever reason, Jesus didn’t choose to instantly sanitize the whole lot of us. We often think He did, though, so we spend a lot of time running around with mops and buckets, getting ready for a bunk inspection. In our kingdoms, we begin to believe that we can fix all our messes. In Jesus’ kingdom, He alone can start with [ … ]

Beauty in the Tension

“The kingdom of God is the kingdom of life, health, beauty, salvation, and freedom (to name just a few of its qualities). The enemy of the kingdom, whom the Bible refers to as Satan, is always attacking that life, that health, that beauty. He attacks spiritual freedom. He wants us to be paralyzed. His relentless attacks are why things are not the way they are supposed to be—yet. But in the midst of all the tensions of life, the kingdom of God comes crashing in. It usually crashes in quietly, though.

…God has this amazing judo move that He uses to attack the kingdom of darkness. He causes all things to work for good to those who love Him, the Bible says. God takes what is meant for evil and turns it for good, if we trust Him at those [ … ]

Let go of performing

“Kingdom life thrives also in the beautiful ordinary, not just when we’re doing ministry or working at a church.

If you’re a writer, let God use your interests and abilities to grow His kingdom in you and through you. That doesn’t require that you write only about Jesus or put a fish symbol on your manuscript. It means that you write as one who lives for and in another dimension.

If you’re a businessperson, don’t bow your knee to fame, money, or making a name for yourself. Instead, excel in your area of expertise so that people can see what good, true, and beautiful business looks like.

If you’re a musician, architect, stay-at-home mother, or the guy with the burrito cart in Pioneer Courthouse Square, the kingdom of God is here and is inviting you to collaborate with what God [ … ]

Like a Treasure Buried

“Jesus’ kingdom invites us to immerse ourselves in the whole gospel He came to preach. We get to listen and consider and think through the staggering possibilities of kingdom living as Jesus taught it. The practical promise of our faith journey together is this: as we live in fidelity to Christ the King, His in-breaking reign will have a transformational effect on us, our communities, and our world. Anything less is not what Jesus came to earth to tell.

In a mysterious yet absolutely real way, the kingdom of Jesus is here now and in power. Like gravity or high-frequency radio waves, this kingdom doesn’t require our attention or consent in order to exist. It just is. Still, I think you’ll find that we have to learn—and deeply want—to see and imagine in new ways. Otherwise we’ll miss it. So [ … ]

VIDEO: This Beautiful Mess by Rick McKinley