September 1, 2008
As I write this I am thinking about what I was doing three years ago today. Like memories forged in life’s crucibles, I remember with detailed clarity scurrying around Birmingham, AL gathering supplies from dear Christian friends who like me had been mesmerized by images of a flooded and devastated New Orleans. I remember the challenge of packing my pick up with all the food, water, fuel, chain saws, medical supplies, etc. that I could fit. I remember the disorientation of not knowing where friends had gone or if our homes survived. As I write this I am listening to CNN reports that are eerily similar to reports I remember from 2005. And we are praying. We are praying for our dear friends whose lives and homes are again threatened by a horrendous storm. We are praying for a city and region that again is emptying out in a frantic attempt to outrun destruction.
When Jesus urged his disciples to pray, he said, “Pray like this, ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed is your name. Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” What does the coming of the Kingdom look like in the face of vast ruin? If the coming of the Kingdom is “where God’s will is done like it is in heaven,” how is God’s will done when thousands of square miles have been laid waste and thousands of lives have been threatened?
As I reflect on the events before, during and after Katrina in light of the Kingdom of God, I can say without qualification that the tragedy that was Katrina could only be matched and was matched by the glorious outpouring of Christians from every village, burg, town and city of the US and many, many other countries. Through them, I was privileged to witness the “mystery of Christ” (Eph 3), the “sharing together” of so many believers from so many different persuasions, locations, cultures and races in “the promises of Christ.” Never had I seen the Kingdom of God surge like in the aftermath of Katrina.
The Kingdom of God is not about death. It is not about destruction. These are foreign to the citizens of heaven. There is no terror or loss in heaven, where God’s will is done. Katrina, Gustav, wildfires, tornados, floods and blizzards are not of the Kingdom. They, like so many of our human experiences, are products of a broken and ruined world destined for destruction. They have no place in the Kingdom, no place in heaven and they demand a clear and compassionate response by all those who embody the Kingdom.
The planting of new churches is of far greater magnitude than developing a more trendy worship service. It is far more critical than questions of church governance. The planting of new churches is of such great consequence because the church is, in the words of Georges Florovsky (1957), “an outpost of heaven.” Every church, big or small, is a village of the heavenly Kingdom. And every community where these outposts find themselves is destine for destruction, either from a hurricane, tornado, wildfire, flood, crime, injustice, addiction, economic oppression or countless other forces spoiling God’s creation. The planting of new churches is of such great importance because every community in every country needs God’s will to be done in her homes and in her streets and in the lives of her citizens like it is done in heaven. And until the final consummation of the ages that task belongs to the church!
OW
