Called to Care by Shelly Judith Allen;Miller Arlene B.;

Author:Shelly, Judith Allen;Miller, Arlene B.; [Shelly, Judith Allen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2009-08-20T00:00:00+00:00

What is the story God tells us? In the Bible we read of God’s creating a new humanity, those who live under his reign. He is creating a new kingdom in which his laws are not imposed from the outside but come from the hearts of its citizens (Ezek 36:27). Further, God himself will live among his people (Rev 21:3), and God himself will banish hostility and violence. No abusive spouses will rip families apart. No rabid dogs will bite children, and no deadly viruses will sap life (Is 11:6-9).

Jesus of Nazareth is the central figure in God’s new story. With the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem two thousand years ago, God opened the possibility of a new relationship between God and people. Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, carried in the womb of Mary and born in an animal stable, was the long awaited Messiah, God’s anointed one, coming to save his creation. God entered human history, becoming fully human and at the same time fully God. God, living everyday life with ordinary people—fishermen, tax collectors, mothers and children, even prostitutes—is the amazing center of this story. Historian of religion Mircea Eliade says, “Since God was incarnated, that is, since he took on a historically conditioned human existence, history acquires the possibility of being sanctified. . . . For God’s interventions in history, and above all his incarnation in the historical person of Jesus Christ, have a transhistorical purpose—the salvation of man.”23 God was working within the ordinary events of life to fulfill his purposes.

Jesus lived about thirty-three years. During his public ministry, only three years long, he gathered about him a small group of followers, preparing them to continue his ministry after he left. During those three years Jesus inaugurated the kingdom of heaven, promising that it would grow from a tiny seed into a large tree (Mt 13:31-32). His kingdom does not exist in a geographical location; it is within those who have come under God’s rule. Jesus taught that we enter God’s kingdom by spiritual birth, not physical birth (Jn 3:1-16). He claimed to be the only means of entry: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). But the invitation for citizenship is extended to all people (Mt 28:18).

Most new nations come to birth through war and public declarations. But the heavenly kingdom came through weakness and death, not through an army of angels. It was Christ’s death on the cross, a shameful Roman execution, which rescued us from our sins. He was vindicated when he “was raised on the third day” (1 Cor 15:4). Unlike gods in other religions who live in a mythical realm, Christ died a physical death and was raised bodily from the tomb. Forty days after his death and resurrection he returned to heaven. Now he rules over all things—the past, the present and the future. One day he will return with the armies of heaven to rule as a powerful king (Eph 1:20-23).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.