Reweaving Creation

To me, perhaps the most startling find in Scripture had dealt with these Biblical terms: "eternal life", "Kingdom of God", and "Kingdom of Heaven". To be honest, I really feel like I have missed some of the most beautiful truths in the New Testament by believing simply that these terms were talking about a place that you go when you die. It seems that no one respected in todays Biblical scholarship (even among conservatives) still believes that it is referring to life after death. Rather, there is this Jewish idea of living in harmony and peace (shalom) with God that is available to anyone who confesses Jesus as Lord. Have we really missed the boat on what Jesus' message is really all about?

I had always thought the message he brought was pretty much about how to get to heaven when you die. If these terms carry the connotations that they seem to, then it turns out that Jesus message was much more than just talking about where you go when you die (although it certainly included that). It seems that his message was much more about the people that claim Him as their King bringing the Kingdom of God wherever they go by serving the poor, reaching out the outcasts, preaching the good news, and inviting the worst of sinners into the Kingdom of God. You see if salavation is about getting out of this world to get to something better, then there really isn't a whole lot of hope for this world, is there? But, if Jesus message was about bringing heaven down to earth through his people than there is more hope for this world than we can ever imagine. This is one of the most profound and exciting ideas I have ever come across. To think that Jesus wants to transform His creation through His followers for His glory pumps me up. The implications from a practical standpoint are huge. It should change the way we think about social justice, the environment, war, evangelism, true Biblical discipleship, suffering, and pretty much everything else we can imagine!