The Kingdom of God Is Here, Now
Hello New Hope Family,
The season between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day reminds me of the process of bringing babies into the world.
The thrill mixed with the fear of the unknown that comes with the positive pregnancy test. The early days when morning sickness threatens to expose the secret.
A few months later when mom and dad can gladly celebrate the news with others. The nesting when furniture is rearranged daily.
Then, finally, the long, slow, and final few weeks that seem endless. Momma is miserable. Dad can’t really relate, but he’s willing to grab more ice cream and pickles. The baby is kicking, developed, and real – even viable – and yet baby has not yet reached “the fullness of time”. It’s not yet time to deliver.
Groans and Pains
I wonder if our world is not in a similar place, metaphorically speaking. The Bible describes sin’s effects on Creation (groaning and pains) and its longing for redemption.
For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
-Romans 8:22
You might picture earthquakes and hurricanes, but we are also a part of creation. The “groaning and pains” include diseases of the body and diseases of the soul. Social, generational, relational, and emotional “dis-ease” (uneasiness, anxiousness, brokenness) are also part of the “groaning and pains”.
We are feeling the groanings and pains these days, and it feels like the contractions are getting closer. The good news – in fact the great news - is that God is using the upheaval of sin to prepare the world for Jesus. God uses the suffering of godlessness to wet our appetite for His presence.
And here is some more good news: God’s not waiting until the end to begin the work of blessing. Through the cross and resurrection, and God’s Presence in the Church, God has caused the Kingdom of God to be here - NOW.
But it’s not quite yet time for His return. What’s He waiting on?
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
-1 Peter 3:9
Prepare for His Coming
Jesus is letting the contractions do their work to prepare the world for His coming. And we need to be a part of this. We get to be the mid-wife, so to speak. Our job is to help the world know that the Kingdom of God is at hand now, by living it and by expecting God to work around us.
All this to say, don’t disengage just because the world is crazy, and you are busy. Don’t the let the grind of “groaning" and "pains”, push you to pursue a pain free living at the price of joining God at work.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
-Ephesians 2:10
In Christ,
~Pastor Chuck