God is one who is to be experienced, not a teaching to be imparted. ... In one sense the God of Judaism was not the God of the Old Testament. The God of the prophets was constantly active in history both to judge and to save his people; the God of Judaism had withdrawn from the evil world and was no longer redemptively working in history.
We see this unfortunate mindset too often in the Evangelical world. It seems that many think God has left His written Word and a hand full of guys with big brains to interpret it for the rest of us. Very, very sad.
Francis Schaefer often wrote that we serve a God who interacts in space-time history. He rightly understood that God has moved, is moving, and will continue to move redemptively. With Jesus we see an extraordinary interaction - the messianic salvation was present! The Kingdom of God had come near! God has taken the initiative to seek out and to save the lost sinner! To redeem from darkness into the light!
With the breaking in of His Kingdom, God has shown Himself to be a seeking God. Jesus came to minister to sinners. He does not deny sin nor make light of guilt. But rather than condemn, He meets them at their point of need and restores what was lost. Somehow evangelicals are often missing the mark by constant focus on our faults. In response to that, it seems many are over-looking our spiritual guilt and confusing the work of the Kingdom as only restoring physical and emotional brokenness. Both are wrong. We were all morally guilty but rather than condemnation and rules, the Kingdom brings good news which restores our whole being and brings freedom.
So here, now, we find that God is a seeking God. He searches for the sheep that strays. He seeks the coin that gets lost. He welcomes home the prodigal son.
Mt 22.1-14 - And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”
Many who consider themselves Christians are guilty of rejecting the invitation to the feast. They have no grasp of the Gospel - the GOOD NEWS. They argue for cessationism. They claim the Kingdom is future only. They fight for truth at the expense of love. They have become the modern day Pharisees and cannot see themselves even as they diligently study Scripture for more and more law. Sadly, these will be destroyed.
Then the invitation is extended to loiterers in the streets. What?!?! How can this be? How can these strange folks be invited to the wedding feast? Look at them. They do nothing to see that they are unworthy and to even dress properly. Both good and bad flood in. I imagine that just as the group that rejected the original invitation held these guys in disdain, so also this crowd in the feast are now holding the others in disdain.
Notice - the Kingdom did not wipe out sin and sinners. In fact, not only were they invited in, but it was those that rejected this notion who were wiped out.
But then the King comes. And when He does, all is sorted out.
My friends, the Kingdom of God may be compared to this.
Blogger after blogger condemn the wedding and those that take up the invitation. Sad. They are blinded and cannot see that they are not even getting into the party and are about to be destroyed.
Blogger after blogger celebrate that they got into the dance. They think everyone can get in. And worse, they gain no real understanding of their sin and need for repentance - ultimately to their destruction as well.
Many are called, but few are chosen. Be humbled. God is seeking.
Technorati Tags: Kingdom of God
No comments:
Post a Comment