The Kingdom of God & Relationship

As I begin down this road of starting a new church in Hernando County I feel the need to press into two grand themes: The Kingdom of God and relationships.

When I say the kingdom of God I don't simply mean the sweet-by-and-by of heaven, or even the Christian Church. I mean specifically the rule and reign of God, both as present reality in the life of the believer, and as coming into final fulfillment when every knee is bowed.

Likewise, when I say relationship, I mean not only the horizontal idea of connecting people to people, but also the vertical relationship of connecting to God, and being in relationship with God.

As I read my Bible I am convinced that these two grand themes run the length and breadth of the Bible. That from the earliest chapters of Genesis we read of God's kingdom, his rule and reign over the earth, and over everything in it, and of his relationship with all of creation, including the crowning relationship of God and humanity. Then sin comes into the world and ruins both the relationship of God to creation and his absolute reign. The earth and everything in it come under another dominion, the rule of sin and death. The result is that every relationships is ruined: God and humanity, man and woman, humans and animals, creatures and the earth. People to people. It all gets messed up!

The rest of the Bible becomes a narrative of restoration. It tells us how God is restoring the broken relationship of himself with humanity, and within that, humanities relationship to the entire creation. Every Bible story becomes a narrative of the need for restoration. Every story tells us just how messed up tings really are apart when they are separated from God.

The end of the Bible is the story of all things being restored. The rule and reign of God is thus established over all living things (every knee will bow and every tongue will confess). The earth is no longer groaning as in labor, but is restored, so that we see a new heaven and a new earth, because all things are made new.

As these two themes run through the Scripture, we also see how intertwined these two elements are. Without God ruling and reigning there is way for relationships to ultimately be healed. Without relationship, the kingdom of God is not restored, we are all just under God's wrath.
Instead we are told the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl of great price, or a treasure chest of Gold. The kingdom of heaven is like a lost coin, or a lost sheep. In all of these images the kingdom and those under its domain are priceless. Either they are being sought by the king or they are willing to pay any price to find the kingdom, but every picture God and humanity are valuable to one another. Remember, for God so loved the world . . . that he gave his Son. Not out of obligation, or frustration, but out of love.

The Kingdom of God and relationships, these are the two things I want to invest in. How about you? Will you join me in building a church like that?

Getting this up and running

Well, it's not much of an article, but more like a place holder. Everything is happening at once these days. The church plant in Hernando County, saying goodbye to the Vineyard in Dayton, selling our home in Ohio. Trying to both finish well and begin well all at once.

Coming soon, I will be posting an article about the two themes of the Kingdom of God and of Relationship that run the length of the entire biblical narrative, and then some musing about Pentecost. I hope you will join the dialogue.

Grace and peace,
Hal