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July 30, 2008
Faith : The Mission of the Church (Part 3)
In my previous post, I stated that my working definition of the mission to The Church was:
“To enable everyone to make an informed decision as to whether they want to be a part of The Kingdom of God, or The Kingdom of the World”
Now many people, including many Christians, would find the language of “Kingdom” and “Citizenship” quite odd and might even question my theology. While I am open to improving this definition over time, I am quite comfortable with those aspects of the statement. If you read what we have recorded of what Jesus actually said, He talked more about “The Kingdom of God” than any other topic. Many of his parables began with the phrase “The Kingdom of God is like. . .” Jesus was very concerned that people understood what the Kingdom of God was – it was central to His mission.
Likewise, Paul had a lot to say about the citizenship of Christians: “But our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20), “you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household” (Eph 2:19) “I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11), “We are therefore Christ's ambassadors” (2 Cor 5:20)
This language particularly appeals to me for two reasons.
The first is that it is easier to describe the full truth of Christianity in this context. People generally understand that being a citizen of some nation involves both rights and responsibilities. As a citizen of the United State, I enjoy a large number of rights; but those rights come with certain responsibilities – to pay taxes, to serve jury duty, and at some points in our history to serve in the military. Likewise citizenship in God’s kingdom comes with many rights (including direct access to the creator of the universe Himself); but it also comes with responsibilities – to serve God while living in this foreign land. By rephrasing the mission of the church away from “getting people saved” to “making citizens of them”, we are less at risk to soft-sell the transaction.
The second reason I like this language is that it inherently gives Christians a correct perspective on our lives here on Earth. In one of my sermons I have used the analogy that we are Christians are on a business trip for God to this world. Now business trips are something I understand well, having done a fair about of travel for my employers over the years. I’ve been to London, Paris, Jerusalem, Sydney, and all across the United States on business. When I travel for my employer, my work comes first. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy myself – I can usually find some free time on each trip to see the sights, do some shopping, try out the local cuisine, etc. Yet I always do those things in the time I have available after I get my business done. There is also a limited degree to which I get settled in to the hotel room. I might unpack my suitcase, hanging up my clothes or putting them into the drawers; but I don’t buy new furniture or start to redecorate.
That’s the attitude Christians should have with respect to their lives in this world – it is only a business trip. It’s OK if you enjoy yourself, do some shopping, try out the local cuisine – as long as you tend to your mission here first. It’s also OK if you get settled in enough in your temporary housing here to be comfortable during your stay; but realize that you are going to have to leave it all behind at some point, so there’s a limit to how much you should invest in things here.
So that’s why I like talking about Christianity as a matter of what Kingdom do you want to be citizens of.
Posted by Steven at July 30, 2008 05:00 AM
