What is God building? - The somewhat different Advent Calender XIX ...

Wednesday, Dec 19, 2012. We are preparing for Christmas. We are in the Advent Season. We have been talking about the fundament and about building work. But what exacly is God's goal? What is he building? What is it we are asked to participate in?

What is the Goal? What is the Plan? …

Jesus is talking a lot about his mission. He says that he came to bring eternal life to mankind. He says he came to bring peace - a deep personal peace, a peace of mind, a peace of the heart. He came to prepare the way for us.

Jesus talks about the kingdom of God. This kingdom is it, which God is buiding. But yet, the kingdom cannot be directly seen, it is not a kingdom like the worldly kingdoms which we usually know. It is a kingdom of the heart. It is a kingdom of the mind. The stones of this kingdom are people. It is built with people. They are built into it!

God's goal is that his kingdom grows. It is a growth in numbers as well as a growth in maturity. It is a growth in the spirit, in truth and love, in justice. The goal is that people come to faith and that they grow in faith. They start to behave like Jesus did. They start to transform into the image of the eternal God, their heart and their mind, their thoughts and their feelings become more like him, influenced by his spirit.

The Bride …

God gives us the image of the bride and the groom. The groom is Jesus himself. He has come to attract people to him. He calls us to come to him, to believe in him, to live with him. The bride is the people, it is the church. Everyone who believes in him is the bride. The bride is now waiting for the groom, waiting to fully show what is there already, growing now in our heart and mind.

Jesus never established a kingdom in a worldly sense - he never wanted to do that. He wanted to reach people in a different way. He wanted us to come to him deliberately, with free will, choosing to follow him, to believe in him. He wanted us to fall in love with the holy God, to discover the beauty and majesty of the Almighty. He never established a worldly kingdom, but he established a spiritual kingdom, and he is building it up, developing it, taking care. He reigns in eternity!

The plan is that we start to discover his kingdom. The plan is that we start to live in it, contribute to it and take part. The plan is that we start to mature. We are asked to take part with all we have, with our heart and our mind, with our hands and our feet, with our money and our time. It is a fantastic experience, to get to know the Lord, to live with him and work with him. Do not hesitate, but come today and go your own steps of faith! (Roland Potthast) ... more texts