Going Up?

One thing I've come to love about Advent is the focus on God coming down. It seems so ridiculously simple and obvious, but our over-emphasis of us going up to Heaven is resulting in a watered-down gospel and subsequently, dilute faith. What? Do you mean that there's more to this life in Christ than getting your ticket punched and waiting for the ride up?

Answer: Yes. "Come Lord, Jesus Come" is not only a yearning for him to take us home. It is cry for Him to come and make our hearts His home. I need him now - every moment of every day.

So here are some "Kingdom of Heaven Questions" to ponder as we're preparing for Advent:

- Could the reason some many self-identified "Christians" live poorly is because their gospel has more to do with going to heaven someday than becoming part of Jesus movement now? (In fact, the gospel has more to do with God coming down than us going up. But that's the subject of another article)

- Does your understanding of the good news of the Kindom of Heaven align with Jesus'?

If we understood the gospel as the arrival of Jesus' kingdom, where we have covenanted with Jesus to...
...learn His teachings, walk in obedience to the King, to love God by loving our neighbor, and proclaim the healing of the cross and resurrection starting now, for "the Kingdom fo Heaven is at hand"...
...would the people of Jesus look different, live different, and become a better witness for the King of kings?