Sunday’s sermon was on the seventh Beatitude—“Blessed are the peacemakers…” (Matthew 5:9). We looked further down in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talked about turning the other cheek and loving our enemies. I said that I believe Matthew 5:44—“But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”—is the most difficult passage in the Bible.

On Monday I was finishing Shane Claiborne’s and Chris Haw’s Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals. It seems like I always find great quotes for a sermon on the day after I preach the sermon. (Bummer.) But this says very well what I was trying to say about the demanding nature of enemy love.

“One of our neighborhood kids who hangs out at our house all the time came up to us one day very upset because one of the bullies in his school was picking on him. We told him, ‘Rolando, that means you get to show him how friends treat each other. He must not know what love and friendship feel like, so you get to teach him.’ Rolando said, ‘Aww man, love is so hard.’”

It was followed by a quote from Dorothy Day…

“Love is a harsh and dreadful thing to ask of us, but it is the only answer.”

In today's message, "The Next Step," I shared a remarkable story of a remarkable woman by the name of Barbara Esrig. I heard it this past week on NPR. If you'd like to read or hear her story called, "My Crash: Broken Bones, But An Intact Spirit," click here.

My "Where is Heaven?" message raised a lot of questions. I'm glad. It's a topic worth discussing.

It's important to know that when I spoke about bodily resurrection, the renewal of the earth and the "New Jerusalem" coming to us, I was not presenting a new theology. Rather I was trying to articulate the understanding of those early Jewish Christians.

"The goal or proper end of human life, according to the Old Testament, is not the individual soul's flight from the constraints of time and body. It is instead the enjoyment of wholeness in communion with God and God's people, amid a healed and no longer strife-driven creation. In this enduring Jewish tradition, the New Testament looks ahead to the communal resurrection of those redeemed in Christ (1 Corinthians 15) and longs for the healing of the 'whole creation' (Romans 8:18-30)."

—Rodney Clapp

Our concepts of disembodied spirits in heaven are the result of pagan Greek philosophy, not the New Testament.

If you want to explore this topic more thoroughly I would highly recommend N.T. Wright's, "Surprised by Hope." Go to my "I Recommend..." page, click on the book and it will take you to the Amazon listing.

I ended my message with an extended quote from Wright's book. I want to share that with you. His description of our present work in building for the present/future Kingdom of Heaven is a thing of beauty.

“You are not oiling the wheels of a machine that’s about to roll over a cliff. You are not restoring a great painting that’s shortly going to be thrown into the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that’s about to be dug up for a building site. You are—strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself—accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God’s new world. Every act of love, gratitude, and kindness; every work of art or music inspired by the love of God and delight in the beauty of his creation; every minute spent teaching a severely handicapped child to read or to walk; every act of care and nurture, of comfort and support, for one’s fellow human beings and for that matter one’s fellow nonhuman creatures; and of course every prayer, all Spirit-led teaching, every deed that spreads the gospel, builds up the church, embraces and embodies holiness rather than corruption, and makes the name of Jesus honored in the world—all of this will find its way, through the resurrecting power of God, into the new creation that God will one day make.”

—N. T. Wright

Acts 10 tells the story of Peter’s “conversion” after his “conversion.” Peter was a Christ follower. He had given his life to Jesus and was giving his life for Jesus. Jesus had made dramatic changes in him and the Holy Spirit continued making those changes. Still, there was more to be done.

You can call it the conversion of the mind. Peter’s heart had been changed and now his thinking needed to catch up. So in a vision God’s Spirit opened the next phase for Peter.

In the message I shared a quote from a book I read twenty-five years ago. When I got out of seminary I read Jim Wallis’ The Call to Conversion: Recovering the Gospel for These Times. It had a powerful impact on me. Here's what Wallis wrote about the continuous nature of conversion...

“This decision to allow ourselves to be remade, this conversion, is neither a static nor a once-and-finished event. It is both a moment and a process of transformation that deepens and extends through the whole of our lives. Many think conversion is only for nonbelievers, but the Bible sees conversion as also necessary for the erring believer, the lukewarm community of faith, the people of God who have fallen into disobedience and idolatry.”

In one particular way my life is like Peters’ – there is still more to be done.

My friend, David Shaw, posted the following in response to the devotionals on the "God - Not Man" message. I'm only carrying one week of devotional thoughts at a time. When I delete the previous week's devotionals the posted comments also get deleted. David's words were so important I moved them over to the Sermon Blog because I didn't want to lose them.

He also makes reference to a message called, "Why Does This Surprise You?" (Wednesday, April 30) in which I defined "Prophetic Presence."

Phil,

I have long said that I don't want a job that is just something I do to get a paycheck, then go home at the end of each day or week. I also have said that my career does not define me - I am not simply what I do at work. I am an engineer by education, training, and profession. I want my work to be meaningful in this world (I want to be a part of designing energy-efficient buildings that people can use while responsibly using only the resources needed), but I also do many other things that are beyond and outside of engineering. I have also had problems with letting go and letting God have control of my life. It sounds too much like becoming a puppet who just does what someONE else makes me do as life comes along. I want some control over my destiny.

I'm beginning to see that, as a Christ follower, having a meaningful career and living for Jesus are not incompatible. I don't have to look at my job as just a job that supports my other activities. My career uses the gifts and talents that God gave me to do something meaningful in helping part of the world move forward, and the "other" activities and service I participate in also use God's gifts. The big part may be realizing that the payoff for what I do in any part of my life may be valuable for God's will in ways that I will never know. Simply knowing that I am part of God's work is more than enough. 

Sometimes the blessings I receive while helping are greater than any blessings I thought I could give. But I am beginning to realize more and more that I am not giving those blessings or service, I am a conduit for God. The blessings I give are actually God's blessings coming through me. The blessings I get from this are spillover as they come through. What more could I want?!

As I move toward giving more of myself to and for Jesus ("your will be done"), I find it easier and more desirable to become, not God's puppet, but God's hands, feet, and conduit for love. This sounds like the "prophetic presence" you talked about Wednesday night. Letting God do in, to, and through me, His will.

Mitch McVicker has a great song, "You Have Everything," that includes the line:
     "I'm your kid, so why would I think
      that I can become even more?"

I think that sums it up pretty well.

The chorus is:
     "'Cause you have everything.
      There's nothing you could ever need.
      There's only one thing I can give to you and that's me."

WOW!

Peace,

David

Wow is right! Thanks, Bro!