Musings
A friend put up a verse in a post of hers recently, and part of that verse went like this: "Seek first the kingdom of God". I commented that although we all seem to be fine seeking the kingdom of God, we all tend to fall short when it comes to seeking it first.
I should know - I mean, every day I see myself consciously looking at God, thumbing my metaphorical nose at him and going the other way. I guess overall I might be seeking God, at least as much as David did in the OT, but what exactly does it mean to seek the kingdom of God first?
Is it some post-modern thing nowadays? Perhaps people are seeking first the Kingdom of God, but in their own little special ways.
What about corporately? Is the church seeking God first? I personally would like to know people's ideas about what would we be doing if we were seeking God first.
Actually that's a bit contradictory isn't it - asking people to imagine what seeking God is about. That's like rats in a maze asking the other rats, "What's going on here then?".
I suppose, in a post-modern kinda way, it seems to come down to us and our relationship with God. I might have mentioned it in a previous post, but a friend recently commented that perhaps the ideal church would be simply about Loving God with all your Heart, Soul, Strength and Mind, and Loving others as yourself.
Let me ask you this in lieu of a non-contradictory thesis - what would a church focussed on loving God and loving others look like?
One proviso of commenting on this blog is that you do not argue with others in your comments - state your case, then sit back and watch. If you have anything to add to your own, please do so, but leave any comments on other's contributions until later.
-Fin-
I should know - I mean, every day I see myself consciously looking at God, thumbing my metaphorical nose at him and going the other way. I guess overall I might be seeking God, at least as much as David did in the OT, but what exactly does it mean to seek the kingdom of God first?
Is it some post-modern thing nowadays? Perhaps people are seeking first the Kingdom of God, but in their own little special ways.
What about corporately? Is the church seeking God first? I personally would like to know people's ideas about what would we be doing if we were seeking God first.
Actually that's a bit contradictory isn't it - asking people to imagine what seeking God is about. That's like rats in a maze asking the other rats, "What's going on here then?".
I suppose, in a post-modern kinda way, it seems to come down to us and our relationship with God. I might have mentioned it in a previous post, but a friend recently commented that perhaps the ideal church would be simply about Loving God with all your Heart, Soul, Strength and Mind, and Loving others as yourself.
Let me ask you this in lieu of a non-contradictory thesis - what would a church focussed on loving God and loving others look like?
One proviso of commenting on this blog is that you do not argue with others in your comments - state your case, then sit back and watch. If you have anything to add to your own, please do so, but leave any comments on other's contributions until later.
-Fin-
posted by Luke at 12:31 AM
2 Comments:
I think that your friend has described the ideal church well. Another idea I thought I might throw out there - I think the ideal church would be when we stop viewing church not as only the building, and NOT as only the people who meet together in the one building. But rather, I think the ideal church would be when we view ourselves as the church - the body of believers in this city. Just think - we'd never have arguements about how big our "churches" are or anything like that, we'd just have the one church. I'm not suggesting that we all combine and meet at one big building though - we'd still have our own buildings. however, we could communicate more, organise big things together (one example of this already happening is the AGMF in Toowoomba) and I guess the occasional combined service wouldn't go down to badly.
Also, when you think about it, Paul always wrote to "the Church at Corinth" or the "Phillipians".. the church of the city.
Have a read of Ephesians 4:1-16 for more food for thought
Some thoughts...
I've always of the ideal church being a family in the most authentic sense of the word. A body of believers where people look out for each other and care for one another. And that church, in terms of its Sunday services, is a place where everyone goes out of their way to make others feel welcomed, especially new people. One friend who is particularly good at that once said to me, "I regard church as my home... and don't you want others to feel welcome in your own home?"
I'm not going to the tackle the missional role of the church in this comment, it's too big a topic.
I do believe that seekers shall know we are Christians "by our love", and that non-believers can become drawn to the body Christ by the very way we treat each other.
I guess, for me, an important question is, "Do we treat the body of believers as our family?" Do we treat all believers as our very brothers and sisters in Christ?
The word "family" has all sorts of connotations nowadays. Many families don't even treat their families as family. I think the notion of family within society has become devalued.
I see the church redefining the word "family", reclaiming it and showing to the world what a family is, the way God intended... or least, in this fallen world, giving the world of lost people the tiniest taste of relational manna... so that hopefully they'll hunger for more and be pointed to the Source...
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