Saturday, July 9, 2011

The paradox of the Kingdom of God

My son and I have started reading through Loving God by Charles Colson. I first read the book a quarter of a century (!) ago. It is a great series of motivational stories. Here is quote (p. 25) we read today that I thought was helpful and challenging.
It is not what we do that matters, but what a sovereign God chooses to do through us. God doesn't want our success; He wants us. He doesn't demand our achievements; He demands our obedience. The kingdom of God is a kingdom of paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self. 
Of course, our success-mad, egocentric culture cannot grasp that critical truth. It is understandable only wen the false values that obsess us are stripped way, somethings in the midst of our most abject failures. Surely that was so in my life, ....

1 comment:

  1. Came upon you blog accidentally. Read "Loving God"....and loved it!!! Right now I'm reading a book by Ann Voskamp "The broken way"...and a little bit disappointed, because she kind of took his idea of the paradox of the kingdom of God and the brokenness and how brokenness leads to a real miracle of your own healing and expanding it to touching the lives of others.

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