Looking up at Heaven, and missing the Kingdom [Book Excerpt]

 

Zach Hoag is one of the most thought provoking wordsmiths on the internet. His blog, The Nuance, is a must read on theology, things of the Church, social justice, and Jesus. Today, he was kind enough to offer some space over there as part of his Free-Form Follow Friday, #FFFF – to share an excerpt from the upcoming eBook The Path of Freedom: Few find it. Fewer walk it. Be one of the few. If you haven’t joined my newsletter yet, you can do that here, or at the end of this post – and you’ll get the eBook FREE when it drops later this month.

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The idolatry of Salvation has a trickle down effect towards misappropriating a crucial spiritual tenet – that is, of the nature of Heaven and The Kingdom.

When we view life through a Salvation lens – we see things and read Scripture with a focus on getting ourselves, and then others, to Heaven. We read the Bible and see words about proclaiming Jesus as Lord, following Jesus, taking up your cross, eternal reward, inheriting the Kingdom, life in the Spirit, faithful living, and on and on and often equate this with “eternal life” as a place, Heaven, a future destination that importantly is NOT Hell, where those who believe in Jesus will one day go.

In Acts, the Angels ask the disciples a profound question following the Ascension of Christ,

“Why do you stand here looking up into heaven?”

The disciples were being directed by the Angels to look around, forward, to watch and see and join in the work of Jesus that was ongoing, here and now – the Kingdom of God.

[Read the rest of the post at The Nuance]

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