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Realm Work - 12/7/05 2005 Archive - 2006 Archive

A friend and I were having a conversation about the realm of God (often called the “ kingdom of God”) and our motivation for participating in it. The conversation was sparked by an article we both read which posited that the spectrum between faithfulness and frustration, with regard to God’s realm, may be due to the difference between believing that something has already been done (by God) and believing that something needs to be accomplished (by us). That is to say, if we are motivated to serve because we believe that God’s declaration of the promised realm is both already accomplished and will no doubt come to pass, then our chances of serving faithfully are great. On the other hand, if we are motivated to serve because we believe that whatever realm-task to which we are called must be successfully accomplished, we are more likely to be frustrated than faithful. My friend believes that the abundance of suffering in the world is indicative that God needs our help, and it is therefore difficult to avoid the weariness and frustration of feeling the need to accomplish the never-ending task of alleviating suffering.

I do not completely disagree, and replied: At the risk of hair-splitting and semantics, I agree that our participation is a part of the in-breaking of God’s realm. But the realm of God’s arrival is a promise from God which can neither be hastened by our “getting it right” nor delayed by our utter and miserable failure. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, and there is nothing we can do to make God love us any less. The realm of God is both coming and here (future and present), not because we did or do enough of the right stuff for the right reasons, but because God spoke its hope into existence. Our participation, then, is in one sense the joyful joining-in on a winning team (though we’d better check on God’s definition of “winning”), late in the season, by someone who has been drafted by sheer grace. The “power” of God is neither brute strength and will, nor the ability to effect supernatural do-overs or overrides. It is, instead, the ability to love so deeply and hold so tenderly that our only response becomes an all-consuming desire to graciously give and serve.

I saw a piece on the news the other night about a high school football team who named as MVP, its equipment manager. That’s realm of God thinking, whether they know it or not. The guy whose name nobody in the press box knows, whose thankless job is to make sure that the people in the spotlight have what they need when they need it—this is the guy who understands the realm of God’s work.

The old cliché of 30 year-old baseball rookies is realm of God talk. When players have been struggling in the minors for years, and suddenly get an opportunity to make it to the majors, they often have a better perspective on the game than those who rocket to fame on ego and natural ability as 20 year-olds. The more mature players, when asked by the press about whether they feel they should have been given a shot when they were younger, are sometimes quoted as saying, “I’m just grateful to be here.” THAT is the response of workers in God’s realm who understand that, apart from grace, they probably wouldn’t have a clue about the work to which they’re called. They work and play in utter joy, simply because of grace.

For brief moments on my better days, I catch a whiff of the scent of grace. It is enough to keep me going through all the times when I am convinced that, at one and the same time, it all depends on me, and I’m woefully inadequate for the task.

Grace, and more grace,

© 2005 Todd Jenkins