Light

We have only one purpose in this life, to love. This purpose can take many forms - pastor, counselor, doctor, administrative assistant, teacher, bank teller, cashier, etc. - but the purpose is still the same. This is where we misunderstand what Jesus means by kingdom. We seem to have become obsessed with some kind of power that comes from political or educational solutions as Christians. We have come to take on the form of the world and its form of power - "power over." Christians have come to think that we can convert enough people, change enough laws, and tell enough people that their behavior is wrong, we can have a kingdom on this earth. We forget what we have read and been taught:

This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him.
If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin.

I John 1: 5-7

Anyone who claims to live in God's light and hates a brother or sister is still in the dark. It's the person who loves brother and sister who dwells in God's light and doesn't block the light from others. But whoever hates is still in the dark, stumbles around in the dark, doesn't know which end is up, blinded by the darkness.

I John 2: 9-11

"Love is our highest calling and the synonym for God." We have forgotten that the cross is the example of what it means to be a Christian. We are to be servants of all those around us - no matter who they are or what "sin" they seem to be in. It does not matter if it is a prostitute that would like to wash our feet with her hair, an adulterous that had just been caught, a tax collector who had stolen from his friends, or even a thief that was dying right next to us - we are called to love. This is the light of the community of people who follow the way of the Master they call Jesus. This is the life that Jesus taught us - a life of love. This is the light that we offer everyone who needs light in their life. All those people we want to change do not see light in our frustration to change them. These people can only see light when they are loved. Jesus' kingdom is one that brings the light of love to everyone we come in contact with. This is not about establishing a kingdom that makes people follow God, but one that allows people to choose to follow God because they have encountered love.

Love today. Be kind. Be light.

Namaste'