Kingdom Talk

Note: I don't want this blog to be purely an outlet for discontent. If I say these things and do nothing about them, what good does that do?

Prayer is an integral part of making change and being part of any greater emerging movement. During our prayer meeting tonight with InterVarsity at Millersville U one of my friends relayed a story from her church service this morning. After the pastor's sermon, an elderly woman stood up and said (and I'm paraphrasing), "My children, your prayers well-received. I love you." Clearly, that was the Holy Spirit speaking through her. Wow, how awesome is that? How awesome it is to know that the God of Heaven hears all that is said and even receives it fully. Not only that, he speaks through simple people like us!

This is an awesome notion as I think about the persecuted churches around the globe in places like Asia, or the Middle East. I mean, that's modern-day Scripture right there: brothers and sisters suffering in the name of Christ in places where their governments do not allow open expression of their beliefs. To think that our prayers for these people, and their own prayers are being heard by God is comfort in itself. To look upon the suffering involved with being a Christian is a sobering thought. Obviously, the walk is not easy and it isn't always going to be butterflies, cookies, and daisies. Even Paul and Peter call for suffering in taking up the cross. However, we are also reminded to rejoice in these sufferings for we will be rewarded in full -“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10). Kingdom talk. Pretty neat stuff.

This also gets me thinking, how have I suffered for Christ? Am I really suffering? It's so easy to get comfortable and to avoid pain because that's how we are functioned. Then again, who needs a Comforter if you're already comfortable? I know it sounds like I'm throwing a lot of rhetorical questions out there but sometimes it's necessary to questions ourselves. What are our motives? What are we living for -ourselves or for God?

Moving on from that train of thought, I'm about to begin reading The Sound of Worlds Colliding edited by Kristin Jack . It's a book containing "stories of radical discipleship" from Servants to Asia's Urban Poor, an international network of Christian communities living and working in the slums of Asia and the West, participating with the poor to bring hope and justice through Jesus Christ. I heard about this group through my friend Mike, who has briefly worked with them through Global Urban Trek, and I've become interested in them ever since.

As you turn to the first few pages within the book, it opens with a quote from Shane Claiborne's The Irresistible Revolution (which I've also read and highly recommend). Shane is the founder of The Simple Way. I'll end this post with his verbatim:

"We can admire and worship Jesus without doing what he did. We can applaud what he preached and stood for without caring about the same things. We can adore his cross without taking up ours. I had come to see that the great tragedy of the church is not that rich Christians do not care about the poor but that rich Christians do not know the poor. When the worlds of poverty and wealth collide, the resulting powerful fusion can change the world. But that collision rarely happens... I long for the Calcutta slums to meet the Chicago suburbs, for lepers to meet landowners and for each to see God's image in the other. It's no wonder that the footsteps of Jesus lead from the tax collectors to the lepers... (for) when the rich meet the poor, we will see poverty come to an end."