The Incongruity of the Kingdom
A post from Liz Gray:
On Monday Simon and I were in Nicaragua. Many people use horses and carts to get around — and as we were strolling down a side street we came across such a vehicle, with its patient but weary looking pony and a brand new fridge loaded on the cart. The incongruity made me smile … but it also made me think about how many incongruities there are in our lives. We worship the carpenter Savior, the foot-washing King, the Creator turned shepherd.
Somehow God is constantly suggesting that we take a second look at things and see them ‘for real.’
- So we live in a world where success is seen to be all, but we know that the meek will inherit the earth.
- We see disasters and we know that God can heal and bring wholeness
- We see sin and we know God can redeem and forgive
- We see death and we know there is life
I want to see more of the upside-downness of God’s viewpoint. Where have you seen it recently?
February 7, 2011 @ 10:21 pm
Hey Liz! Love this, even as you then came home to an upside down flood! Tonight I saw perhaps a different type of example. Shy young Gabriel, now moved up from beginner, had told his former teacher last week it was his birthday. She did the “normal” thing and brought him a cake and a card tonight. When all the students and teachers sang to him at the break, his face lit up brighter than the lit candles and I saw a new side of him as he responded to being “beloved.” Just the small “normal” things we do – when we (I) think to do them – can reflect so well the Kingdom of God.
February 8, 2011 @ 11:03 am
I LOVE this story, Christine! The ESOL ministry is such a wonderful incarnation of Christ’s absolutely free and gracious love–and it is amazing to see the difference it makes when people experience that love. Hooray for the teacher who did the “normal” thing!