"This is not the life Jesus died for you to live. There is always more." - source unknown

I found a piece of paper in my car the other day that had that quote written on it. Either I read it and wrote it down, or I heard it in a sermon and wanted to save it. Of course, I then proceeded to lose the piece of paper until the moment it reappeared between the front seats and hand brake.

Life has a tendency to drag, doesn't it? I mean, we go on and on... and on and on. We get bogged down in the ruts of weekday schedules, extracurricular activities, church programs. And that before the "storms" of life that are always just around the bend, if not on top of us right now. Maybe that's why I saved that quote - the promise of "more", and the challenge of "this is not it - yet"...

Reading Isaiah 65:17-25, you can get a sense of the future coming of Christ's kingdom, and of its possibility even now among us. Tony Campolo suggests in ADVENTURES IN MISSING THE POINT that kingdom-living would have this kind of effect on society, a real substance filled with long life, better childcare, laughter and God's listening ear. What if the promises of Revelation 21 could begin to take shape now - not perfectly, but still in-line with God's call for us to love Him and to love each other?

There's more to this life, more than just living and dying, more than just trying to make the best of things (isn't that a Stephen Curtis Chapman song?). Striving to live at that level, from where the grace of God both embraces us to feel His presence and empowers us to do His bidding - that's where I want to live.

Got to do better about waking up early and making coffee in the morning first. Coffee's got to work into that equation somewhere.
- posted by Rick @ 09:01