Pages

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Reclaiming to Restore - Part III

Part 3 of 4

But like any good father, God decided right then and there that sin, death and the devil would not win.

As you read through the pages of the story of God and his people, you will notice that God wants to be here, with his people.

If you skip to the end of the book, you will read that one day, The Lord of the Heavens and Earth, the God of the Universe will come down and will take up residence on the earth with his people.

Revelation 21:2 – I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away….for I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW.”

This is a picture of our God’s plan to defeat sin, death and the evil one:

RECLAIMING

RENEWING

RESTORING

Heaven is not our final destination

But as Christians we understand and anticipate spending forever right here

In a new heaven that comes to earth.

The goal is not to escape this world but to make this world the kind of place that God can once again come to.

But how can we do that?

We can do that because as Christians

God is making us into the kind of people he originally created us to be.

The kind of people, who can do this kind of work.

How is God doing that?

Through the death and resurrection of His own Son.

You see, Jesus is God’s way of refusing to give up on his dream for the world.

He has reclaimed us from sin, death and the evil one

In order to renew us and to restore us to our original purpose.

And now, though this world is still fallen and marred by sin we are new kinds of humans.

Humans who have been reclaimed, renewed, restored.

Humans who understand that we reflect the beauty and creativity and wonder of the God who made us.

Humans who have one goal:

Your kingdom come

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven

Humans who bring heaven to earth.

Humans who usher in the goodness of the presence of God everyday, everywhere, in everything.

In every relationship, in every transaction, in every meeting, in every situation

We bring heaven to earth.

We are humans who understand that mentoring a child at the local public school is just as spiritual as spending an hour on our knees praying.

We are humans who understand that preparing a meal for a friend who has just lost her husband to cancer is just as spiritual as going to church.

We are humans who understand that playing cowboys and indians with our children in the backyard is just a spiritual as reading the book of Ephesians.

We are humans who understand these things because we understand that no matter what we are doing, we are doing it all for the glory of God with the intention of bringing heaven to earth.

We are humans who fully embrace our life here and now on this earth.
We are humans who understand that we live in the forgiveness of Christ

RECLAIMED

RENEWED

RESTORED

Our life is no longer about sin management.

When we are living in the fullness of who God created us to be, we have no desire to sin.

We now live a life that has been transformed and empowered.

The kingdom of darkness is a temporary kingdom on the planet

But now we understand that the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Light has broken in

And now, we live lives in which we are empowered to bring goodness to the inhabitants of this earth.

So, what does it all mean?

How does it change the way I live my life?

No comments: