There are moments in our lives where we are inspired to act. We look for incremental ideas to help us get there. What we really need is a mind-shift. We need a reformation of our thinking. We need a new understanding of reality.
One of the greatest challenges we face is to have a different relationship with the future. I’ve always had an uncomfortable relationship with Ecclesiastes 1. “Vanity of vanities…” Have you ever read passages of the Scripture that agree with you, and you pretend you agree with them? I wrestled with the idea that “there is nothing new under the sun.” For 20 years I embraced that worldview but something inside of my soul felt sickened by the reality of that theological framework.
Solomon was wrong: there is something new under the sun. Why do we allow the man who says, “everything is meaningless” shape our worldview? He was speaking out of despair and darkness. That’s not how God sees our experience. There is an apathy towards the future in the Church. God is always doing something new.
Christian, start paying attention because you are going to miss the new. Put away the former things… behold, I (God) am doing a new thing. Will you even be aware of it? Will you know it’s happening? We have an oppressive worldview that tells us there is nothing new under the sun. God is entirely the God of the new.
If you live your life outside of God, you are destined to a life of monotony, endless repetition and emptiness. When you step into the presence of the Creator of the Universe, everything becomes new. Even His mercies are new every morning. You become a new creation, you have a new spirit, a covenant.
You cannot put new wine in an old wineskin. God’s first job was being an artist. We’re really comfortable with history. We can’t make history. We can’t change history. We are too uncomfortable with the future. We need to create the future. We are all created in the image and likeness of God. When we live our lives outside of God we live our lives in the created order. When we live our lives with God, we live in the creative order. Evil men do not wait for permission from God to create the future they have in mind. Good people sit idly by waiting for God to create a better world. Why do we wait for someone else to make the better future?
Don’t wait for someone else to create the better future. What comes after the post-modern world? Whatever we choose! We have been entrusted with this stewardship: to redeem the image of God in every human being and living our lives that reflects the image and character of God.
To Create the Future… We need to become the cultivators of human potential.
Nurture the creative capacity in every human being. For example, Moses was no ordinary child. Were you born great or are you attaining greatness? There has never been an ordinary human being ever born; most of us die painfully and tragically ordinary. The Church needs to nurturer the human spirit. What if followers of Christ were known as the epicenter of creativity? People live their entire lives being beaten down. The moment you meet Jesus Christ, something comes alive in you. Imagination that was lost comes to life. The church is filled with people in need of someone to come and liberate the dreams inside of them.
What is spiritual leadership if we do not set the human spirit free? If we do something extraordinary and beautiful the world will ask us what fuels our motivation. The Church needs to reclaim its place as the incubator of God-given talent and potential inside of every human being. There is no better way to live, than to redeem the image of God in every human being. There is no conflict between human creativity and the glory of God.
Be the Narrators of the Human Story.
Christians used to be the best poets in the world. We used to tell our story with authenticity and transparency. There is no book that explains the human condition better than the Scriptures. The Scriptures have an uncanny ability to bring life and health to anyone. We’ve taken on a false narrative in the Church: we are afraid to tell who we really are. We need to reclaim the truth-telling power of the narrative of Christ. We need a revival of great storytelling. Whoever tells the best story shapes culture. A lot of times the truth is lost in a bad story and falsehood is spread through a good story. It’s not that hard to bring people to Jesus when you tell them a story they find themselves in.
We are a mosaic… broken and fragmented pieces brought together by the masterful hand of an extraordinary Creator. We are a creative class in a new creative order. Jesus is coming. He makes all things new.
Courtesy of timschraeder.com.