Pam and I arrived safely back in Brazil last night. It feels good to be back.
I love the feeling one gets when arriving back home. I feel at home in the USA and I feel at home in Brazil. I love both cultures.
It is really fun to get off the plane in either country and immediately feel like I know the way life is to be lived here or there. Everything from smells to sounds seem familiar and good.
The same should be true of our experience of God's kingdom every day. We should feel completely at home in God's kingdom 24/7 and moment by moment. Today we should feel completely comfortable turning the other cheek and going the extra mile. We should feel completely at home forgiving and forgiving. We should feel completely at home not fretting about my circumstances. After all, this is our culture!
When we arrived at the airport last night there were a group of short-term missionary teams on our flight. From the look of excitement, confusion and fear on their faces as they retrieved their luggage, I could tell they were not yet at home in Brazil. They will soon learn to love and be at home in Brazil if they will learn to let Brazil be Brazil and not try to change it to fit their own preferences.
Christians who try to change the Kingdom of God and Jesus' words make a huge mistake. Every other culture--including the USA and Brazil---will pass away. The Kingdom of God is forever. Adapt! It will become home to you, too, when you stop trying to change it and choose to live it.
2 comments:
Bud, I could feel, taste, smell and hear everything you were describing, as I have lived those very reactions all my life. But never had I made that connection with the kingdom of God! But then again we all agree that you are pro at connecting all the dots and bringing clarity!! You are the best!
Marcy, I think anyone who has lived in two different cultures has a huge advantage when it comes to discipleship. By being forced to learn a new way of living day to day and moment by moment in a new culture we are better prepared to see discipleship as learning to be happy and fruitful in the new culture called God's kingdom.
Jesus never attempted to "fix" the culture of this world because He knew it was passing away. He loved the people in the culture that is passing away. We should to the same while leading them to embrace the Kingdom. We must be in the culture of the world but not of the culture of the world. The sermon on the mount describes this "in but not of" life. God bless you! Bud
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