David Bosch on an Eschatology of Mission

"We need an eschatology of mission which is both future-directed and oriented to the here and now.  It must be an eschatology that holds in creative and redemptive tension the already and the not yet; the world of sin and rebellion, and the world God loves; the new age that has already begun and the old that has not yet ended; justice as well as justification; the gospel of liberation and the gospel of salvation.  Christian hope does not spring from despair about the present.  We hope because of what we have already experienced.  Christian hope is both possession and yearning, repose and activity, arrival and being on the way."

David Bosch, Transforming Mission

Is Prince William the Antichrist?

Answer: No.

And with that, I end all that I care to say about the royal wedding -- the marriage of someone who might one day hold a position without authority in a nation that I don't live in.

Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13)

A few weeks back, I shared a message from God's Word based on Matthew 13.  That chapter features a collection of parables from the Lord Jesus on the topic of God's Kingdom.  My message was preached to a mostly South Asian audience and translated into Hindi.  So, as I preached, I sought to keep in mind specific worldviews and cultural backgrounds that typify the Indian subcontinent.

Instead of preaching only one or two of these parables, I decided to see them as a collection intended to be understood together.  So, I found myself dividing the parables into two groups.

1. Escatological Parables
2. "Seize the Moment" Parables

Under the first, we have the parable of soils, weeds, the mustard seed, yeast, and the fish in the net.  I classify these as escatological parables because they focus on the culmination of the Kingdom of God.  From taking these together, I derived three principles to share with my audience:

• God is actively involved.  We don't have to struggle to get God's attention.  We don't have to do something unusual to get Him to notice us.  He is already involved, working, watching, speaking.  
• Satan is also actively involved (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).  We ignore this fact to our peril.  If the parables show us that God is working in the world to advance His Kingdom, so they show us an enemy who actively works to hinder it.
• The end will come.  This world is not a never-ending merry-go-round.  It will end.  Reward and punishment are certain.

I saw the parables of the pearl and treasure are of a different sort.  These parables don't focus on the culmination of the Kingdom, but rather what we are to do now as the Kingdom is proceeding.  And we are to essentially seize it -- to lay hold of it while we still can.  A few straightforward principles flow out of these two parables:

• We must surrender all unworthy affections.  All lesser pearls but give way to the one of surpassing value.  We must be willing to give away all other things to lay hold of the Kingdom.
• We must surrender all fears.  I have found that many of those who are not following Christ are hindered by fear.  They fear the criticism and opposition that they will face if they follow Jesus openly.  I can think of people that I know well who are in this situation.  But risk is needed to lay hold of the pearl.  Selling everything you own is risky and invites severe criticism, even opposition.  And what if it all goes wrong.  Surely this is an important point to teach.
• We must put our trust in God's Son.  This, of course, is what is meant by seizing the Kingdom.

Blessings to you this day!