My Kingdom Parables...
I still don't seem to really completely understand the Kingdom - but I'm actually encouraged by that since I still don't really, completely understand what love is - but I get to experience what it is day after day with my wife, my daughters, my friends, my God - and what it isn't day after day by some of my attitudes, some of the real down people I know... So, while I may not be able to DEFINE it, I experience it.
One night at Pittsburgh Project I was talking about punk rock, ska and general goofiness with the four youngest guys we took along. (Quote of the week was, "You're not going to sleep with that pizza in your pocket, are you?") So for like an hour we were just five guys talking about, well, nothing, really. But it was a kingdom moment, I think. I wasn't above them talking down at them saying do this and don't do that and they weren't above me saying how uncool, old, out of touch...so, um, pastorish... No, we were just five guys talking about breaking bass strings and duct taping drum heads and being real - if somewhat trivial - with each other. I respect them a little more, I understand them a little more. And maybe at 14 (and 38) we need to start with the trivial, the drum heads, the Punk-Reggae-Ska band from Warren (check out Near to Far on Myspace - they've called it quits, but there' s a couple of tunes there still) and the occasional moments of openness - like the guy who talked about his anger issues...
So, the Kingdom of Heaven is like five guys sitting on their bunks talking about nothing. When the lights go out, they will have shared in each other's lives...
Here's another "parable":
The Kingdom of Heaven is like children's laughter. You never know where or when it will appear (so be ready), but when it does, it is full, and joyous, and infectious.
You never know when the Kingdom will appear. Now, I know that Jesus' parables are TRUTH and mine are, at best, little similes of reality...but I'm trying to draw from Jesus' Truth, wrestle with it, understand it and embrace it...
So, Kingdom isn't something we build, it is something we experience. It is something we live. It is something we nurture. While I can intentionally make my daughters laugh, they also spontaneously laugh, because children have (or should have) a deep rooted joy of life and new experiences and it bubbles out. Think about knock-knock jokes. My 3 and 5 year olds LOVE them - and they don't make ANY sense. Knock-knock. Who's there? Hat. Hat who? Hat on a head...and they roll around in squealing giggles... Why does such simple enjoyment get ground out of us as we "grow up"? The best laughs from the girls are the unexpected ones. You know, I love it when I'm in a crowded room and I hear a little child laugh. I can't help it - I smile. And if it's a great big "I love life so much and this is too funny to keep in" belly laugh, I may even laugh too. It's contagious. It's spontaneous. It's random. But my heart is almost always open to it - to smile and laugh - not AT someone - but WITH someone
The Kingdom is an experience that is way too good to keep to ourselves...
One night at Pittsburgh Project I was talking about punk rock, ska and general goofiness with the four youngest guys we took along. (Quote of the week was, "You're not going to sleep with that pizza in your pocket, are you?") So for like an hour we were just five guys talking about, well, nothing, really. But it was a kingdom moment, I think. I wasn't above them talking down at them saying do this and don't do that and they weren't above me saying how uncool, old, out of touch...so, um, pastorish... No, we were just five guys talking about breaking bass strings and duct taping drum heads and being real - if somewhat trivial - with each other. I respect them a little more, I understand them a little more. And maybe at 14 (and 38) we need to start with the trivial, the drum heads, the Punk-Reggae-Ska band from Warren (check out Near to Far on Myspace - they've called it quits, but there' s a couple of tunes there still) and the occasional moments of openness - like the guy who talked about his anger issues...
So, the Kingdom of Heaven is like five guys sitting on their bunks talking about nothing. When the lights go out, they will have shared in each other's lives...
Here's another "parable":
The Kingdom of Heaven is like children's laughter. You never know where or when it will appear (so be ready), but when it does, it is full, and joyous, and infectious.
You never know when the Kingdom will appear. Now, I know that Jesus' parables are TRUTH and mine are, at best, little similes of reality...but I'm trying to draw from Jesus' Truth, wrestle with it, understand it and embrace it...
So, Kingdom isn't something we build, it is something we experience. It is something we live. It is something we nurture. While I can intentionally make my daughters laugh, they also spontaneously laugh, because children have (or should have) a deep rooted joy of life and new experiences and it bubbles out. Think about knock-knock jokes. My 3 and 5 year olds LOVE them - and they don't make ANY sense. Knock-knock. Who's there? Hat. Hat who? Hat on a head...and they roll around in squealing giggles... Why does such simple enjoyment get ground out of us as we "grow up"? The best laughs from the girls are the unexpected ones. You know, I love it when I'm in a crowded room and I hear a little child laugh. I can't help it - I smile. And if it's a great big "I love life so much and this is too funny to keep in" belly laugh, I may even laugh too. It's contagious. It's spontaneous. It's random. But my heart is almost always open to it - to smile and laugh - not AT someone - but WITH someone
The Kingdom is an experience that is way too good to keep to ourselves...
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