For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities — all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.… – Col 1:16-17
It’s easy to get sidetracked from preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.
What we’re supposed to be doing as the Church is to be proclaiming the Kingdom of God. Bringing it forward from the future, into today’s society. Making disciples. Healing the sick. Feeding the hungry; visiting the prisoners, clothing the naked. Doing the things Jesus did. ‘Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did’ (1 John 2:6). It’s all about Jesus! He’s the reason for, and should be the centre of, everything we are doing.
But today we see Christians getting sidetracked from Him. Here’s a number of ways in which we waste time, resources and energy instead of doing the Kingdom:
- Making a big issue out of the age of the Earth (it’s not only 4,000 years old!!)
- Making it hard for hurting, seeking people to access the benefits of the Kingdom by making them jump through our hoops in order to ‘qualify’ for the ‘privilege’
- Arguing Creationism vs. Evolution
- Roping people into doing non-Kingdom stuff, like Church fetes and so on.
- Persecuting LGBTQ people and other ‘unacceptable’ minorities.
- Judging others, especially when disguised as being ‘loving’
And, because we’re not doing what we see Father doing (John 5:19), not only is the Kingdom not advanced, but we also spectacularly manage to alienate the very people we’re supposed to be reaching.
In our church, we have a principle that if it doesn’t advance the Kingdom, we don’t do it. Christians, stop wasting so much time and energy on the superfluous. Concentrate on what you should be doing.
Once people see the love of Christ, it’s difficult to advance a counter-argument; if indeed they should still want to do so having seen such love. This is the way to work around these pointless arguments and get the Gospel across. Jesus said ‘By this shall all men know that you are My disciples: that you have love for each other” (John 13:35) In this way, the ‘arguments’ become irrelevant.
Remember: it’s all about Jesus!