Post by Cindy on Apr 4, 2016 7:38:24 GMT -5
What is the kingdom of God all about? What new meaning and purpose is to become the focus of my life as a child of God? God has called us away from our autonomous, self-focused living to live transcendently once again—to live with restoration in view in every situation, location, and relationship in which God places me.
God’s redemptive purpose is captured in Revelation 21:5, when God, seated on the throne says, “I am making everything new!” It is summarized in Romans 8:18–24, which pictures the whole of creation groaning, waiting for redemption. If the glory of God is reflected in all of creation, if the effects of sin reach to all of creation, and if the goal of redemption is to restore all of creation, then you and I should care about everything!
Your sadness with sin should be bigger than the fact that it complicates your life. Your sadness should extend as far as sin reaches. Your celebration of God’s restoring grace should be bigger than the fact that it brings blessing to your private world. The goal of God’s kingdom is the complete restoration of every last thing that was damaged by the fall. Grace calls you to shape your living to the contours of this amazing work of restoration. As the great old Christmas carol proclaims, “He comes to make his blessings known, far as the curse is found.”
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:18–24)
Heart of the matter: Daily reflections for changing hearts and lives
God’s redemptive purpose is captured in Revelation 21:5, when God, seated on the throne says, “I am making everything new!” It is summarized in Romans 8:18–24, which pictures the whole of creation groaning, waiting for redemption. If the glory of God is reflected in all of creation, if the effects of sin reach to all of creation, and if the goal of redemption is to restore all of creation, then you and I should care about everything!
Your sadness with sin should be bigger than the fact that it complicates your life. Your sadness should extend as far as sin reaches. Your celebration of God’s restoring grace should be bigger than the fact that it brings blessing to your private world. The goal of God’s kingdom is the complete restoration of every last thing that was damaged by the fall. Grace calls you to shape your living to the contours of this amazing work of restoration. As the great old Christmas carol proclaims, “He comes to make his blessings known, far as the curse is found.”
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?” (Romans 8:18–24)
Heart of the matter: Daily reflections for changing hearts and lives
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