Saturday's post on violence is a simple reminder that whether or not we agree on Christian pacifism, we are different in this world, as the people of God following Jesus.
Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom did not come from this world, though it most certainly had invaded this world. The kingdom of God came in the person of Jesus the Messiah and King. And it remains here, not only in the words of Jesus we have from the gospels, such as in The Sermon on the Mount. Living words to be sure, that can come home to the heart and begin to be at work in our lives, by the Spirit. But this kingdom is also present and living through the Spirit in the church. Though since this is a half way kind of station and place, in which we sinners are forgiven and being healed and transformed over time, it's not like the world is going to see a picture of exactly how the kingdom of God will have transformed all things in the end. Instead what is seen is the kingdom of God at work in and through the church. That is the way it's supposed to be.
Jesus said to his followers that they are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. They most certainly had not "arrived," but grace was at work in their lives, and they were to both live out and tell others of this good news of God's salvation having come in Jesus. Of course that is a message of repentance and faith involving commitment. And being taken up by God into a new reality in Jesus by the Spirit. One that we should not underestimate, humble though it may seem.
What would you like to add to this?
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