"The Kingdom of God is the first and most essential dogma of the Christian faith. It is also the lost social ideal of Christendom. No man is a Christian in the full sense of the original discipleship until he has made the Kingdom of God the controlling purpose of his life." Walter Rauschenbusch, Christianizing the Social Order, 1912.
Yes! This resonates with me! This rings true in the light of Jesus' teachings! This picture of the will of God makes perfect sense; it's not about my personal salvation, it's not about some eventual out-of-body experience with angels, etc., it's not even about the Church! William Ramsay goes on to quote WR:
"It responded to all the old and all the new elements of my religious life. The saving of the lost, the teaching of the young, the pastoral care of the poor and frail, the quickening of starved intellects, the study of the Bible, church union, political reform, the reorganization of the industrial system, international peace, - it was all covered by the one aim of the Reign of God on earth."
"Does not the Kingdom of God consist simply of this - that God's will shall be done on earth, even as it is now in heaven? And so, wherever I touched, there was the Kingdom of God."
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
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