INTRODUCTION

ONn lJPON A rrfvIE I EMBRACFD TilE IRISTIAN RELI(;ION.

!-'rankly, I wasn't very good at it. Religion just isn't my thing. For
,1 while I felt like a failure. Some religious folk consigned me (and
slill consign me) to the the. But over time I've come to see my reli-
gious tlilurc as a tremendous hlessing.
Because when I lost my religion, I discovered a beautiful revolution.
This may surprise or even oftt>nd you, but ./C'sus is not the
founder of the Christian religion. True, a religion arose centuries
after he lived that was called "Christian," hut as you'll discover in
this hook, in many respects this religion was antithetical to what
It,sus was about. In E1ct, as you'll also discover in this book, th",
Vt'ry t'(mcept of a "Christian religion" is something of a myth when
understood in the light of what Jesus was about.
What Jesus was about had nothing to do with being religious.
Read the He partied with the worst of sinners and out-
raged the religious. This is what got him crucified.
What Jesus was about was starting a revolution. He called this
revolution "the Kingdom of God."
This n'volution isn't centered on getting people to believe par-
ticular rE'ligious beliefs and E'ngage in particular religious behaviors,
though these may be important, true, and helpful. Nor is it cen-
tE'red on to fix the world by advocating the "right" political
causes or advancing the "right" national agendas, though these may
be noble, righteous, and effective.
No, the Kingdom of God that Jesus established is centered on
one thing, and one thing manifesting the beauty of God's
character and thus revolting against everything that is inconsistent
')
10/ Ifll MYTII III !\ l'IIIUSIIAN RELIGION
with this beauty, The Kingdom is Cl'ntcred on displaying a beauty
that revolts,
The Kingdom, in short, is a beautiful revolution.
Everything about Jesus manifested this beautiful and "revolting"
Kingdom. We see it most profoundly when Jesus allowed himself
to be crucified. On Calvary Jesus puts on display the beauty of
God's decision to suffer for his enemies -and at the hands of his
enemies-rather than use his omnipotent power to violently defeat
them. On Calvary we also see God's rt'volt against our enslavement
to violence and everything eIst' that us estranged from God
and one anotht'r. The devil himself is confronted and overcome by
the cross of Jt'SUS Christ.
death sums up the theme of his whole life. Every aspect
of his life, teachings, and ministry put the beauty of God's reign on
display and revolted against some of the culture that contra-
dicted this
The central call of all who pledge their life to Christ is to join
this beautiful revolution and to therefore humbly live and love like
this. "Whoever claims to live in him," John says, "must live as Jesus
did" (] John 2:6). We're to manifest God's beauty by sacrificially
loving our enemies, the poor, feeding the hungry,
the oppressed, welcoming the outcast, embracing the worst of sin-
ners, and healing the sick, just as Jesus did. And no way
to do this without at the same time revolting against everything
in our own lives that keeps us self-centered, and apathetic
toward the plight of others. Nor is there any way to do this without
revolting against everything in and, we shall see, in the
spiritual rt'alm -that keeps people physicalJy, socially, and spiritu-
ally oppressed.
you see, the Kingdom has nothing to do with religion-
"Christian" or otherwise. It's rather about following the example of
Jesus, manifesting the beauty of God's reign while revolting against
all that is
It's a beautiful revolution that we're all invited to join. But to do
so, we're got to lose our religion.
CHAPTER 1
GIANT ESUS
Whoever claims to live in him
must live as Jesus did.
1 JOHN 2:6
CONFESSIONS OF A SKEPTICAL PASTOR
Traditionally, Christians have helieved that the Church is God's
main vehicle I()r carrying out his will "on earth as it is in heaven."
In rny early years as a Christian, I was convinced this was true. But
over the years I've lost confidence in this-which is a little strange,
I supposc, since I'm the pastor of a birly large evangelical church.
The seeds of douht were planted in my college years wht'n I
first studied the Church's hloody history. Almost all varieties of
the Church Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, Orthodox, and so
on torturt'd and murdered people "in Jesus' name." Hoy\' could
this be if the Church is God's main "vehicle of salvation"?
During that time I also hecame aware of how central following
the example of Jesus is to the New Testament's understanding of
what it means to "be "I This slowly opened my <'yes to the
radical contradiction bet ween the I Jesus calls his tiJllowers
to embrace, on the one hand, and the typical American lifestylt',
on the other. Yet it struck me that the Church in America largely
celebrates-the typical American lifestyle. Research
confirms that the values of Americans who profess faith in Christ
are largely indistinguishable from the values of Amt'ricans
who do not. 110W could this if the Church is God's main "vehicle
of salvation")
II
I / illl MYTII \ll II CIIRI'ITIAN RIUl;ION
what caused my confidence in the Church to hottom out
completely was a movement that ;Hose in the I980s known as "the
Moral " Christians in this movement tried to grah political
power in order to "hring America hack to God," as they put it.
I've never understood what godly period of American history
these fOlks were trying to gel us back to. Was it before or after
white Europeans enslaved millions of Afril'ans and slaughtered mil-
lions of American Indians to steal their land?
But what really horrified me was how they were trying to take
Anwrica hack there (wherever "there" might he), The leaders ofthis
movement called on all "moral" peopk to sidl' with them in their
political crusade against all those they considered "immoral" ~
lilwrals, homosexuals, feminists, ahortionists, selularists, and the
like. Worst of all, many of these IE'adcrs did this explicitly "in Jesus'
name," while many, if not most, conservative churches jumped on
the handwagon.
What I never understood was why lllllowcrs of lesus \voukl try
to gain political power owr people when J('sus himself never at-
tempted such a thing. Nor could I understand how these Christians
could act as if their sins were serious than the sins of those they
were lTusading against. Jesus alld Paul explicitly taught disciples
to embrace the opposite attitude. Followers of Jesus are to con-
sider themselws "the worst of sinncrs" (I Timothy I: IS ~ 16) and
to maximize their own sins while minimizing the sins of others
(Matthew 7:1
This movement
us anything, it's that
The worst
including
Inquisition, witch
Church history, in
were all built on
me as dangerous, If history teaches
make perilous bedfellows.
when religious people
political power. The Crusades,
inter-Christian wars throughout
were slaughtered "in Jesus name,"
This same history that mixing politics and religion is
disastrous not only t()r nations but for advancing the Christian faith
as well. Go to any country Christians once ruled and you'll
CilANT JESUS /13
lind the Church has all hut disappeared and the people are gen-
,'I;t! Iy more resistant to spiritual discussions than those in other
, ullures.
History teaches that the best way to destroy the Church is to
\ ~ i v e it political power.
Worst of all, people in the Moral Majority seemed to imply that
;lgr('('ing with a particular political position was a precondition to
"Iltering into the Kingdom of God, Indeed, it justified all who re-
j(>,ted the Moral Majority's political posturing to also reject Christ.
It transformed a beautiful into something that could he eas-
ily dismissed and understandably disdained.
If I'd been offt>red this version of Christianity as a nonbelieving
tcenager, l'm quite certain I would remained a pagan.
While the Moral Majority died (lut, its mindset did
!lOt. The first two the third millennium brought f()rth
as much divisive as anything that happened in
the I9HOs or '90s.
Like most of megachurches, I reccived an
unprecedented amollnt of prcssure to "steer thl' flock" toward re-
electing George Bush in 2004. Most of this came from mf'mlwrs
of my own five-thousand-person congregation who were getting
worked tip into a political hy Christian leaders on television,
on the radio, on th(> I ntcrnet, and in the maii.
I decided to use the olTasiol1 as a teaching opportllnity. I would
explain the hihlical reasons why our church never has, and never
will, participate in political activity (as well as why we don't have a
flag on our premises, sing patriotic hymns, celebrate the Fourth of
July, or do other things like that). So I delivered a four-part sermon
series titled "The Cross and the Sword" that spelled out the differ-
ence hetween the Kingdom of God, which followers of Jesus art'
called to promote, and the kingdoms of the world, which politics
concerns itself with.
The messages exposed a division in my congregation that ran
through the entire evangelical community. On one hand, I'd
never received such positive responses to anything I'd ever preached.
I c\ / I III MY 111 (II .\ l IlIZl\ II AN R H.lli ION
Some people literally joy, It'cling that the had been
hijacked by American politics. On the other hand, roughly a thou-
sand people walked out.
Looking back, I know I could have been more tactful (never my
strong suit). Rut the mass t'xodus also revealed the ongoing fusion
of faith and politics in American evangelicalism and mine was a
congregation that had always taken care to keep the two
THE DISCOVERY OF THE KINGDOM
I might have fallen into incurahle cynicism, and even left the min-
had it Ilot heell hJf one thing: God had heen ing me
that the Kingdom of God not only can't be identified with any po-
litical p;lrty, ideology, or nation; it also can't IX' identified with any
human institution, including the Church, or any organized religion,
including Christianity, Rather, the Kingdom of God displays the
ht'<1Utiful character and behavior of th,' One who first embodied it.
lt always looks like Jesus-loving, serving, and sacrificing himself
t()r all pcopk, inl'iuding his ('nemit's.
To the extent that any individual, church, or movement looks
like that, it the Kingdom of Cod, To the extent that it
doesn't look like that, it doesn't.
It's that simple.
This insight saved rny spiritual life and reignited my passion to
bt' a fol1owt'r of Jesus.
My hope and prayer is that it will do the same f()r all who read
this hook.
THE KINGDOM
Jesus went he proclaimed "the Kingdom of God." It's
the thread that connel'ts all his teaching. A kingdom is any area
a particular king reigns. Literally, it's the king's domain. So
the Kingdom of God that Jesus referred to is the domain of God's
GIANT IESLIS /15
I vign. Jesus' life and teachings focused on revealing what it looks like
\\hen God reigns in a person's life and in tht' life of a community.
Jesus didn't just focus on the Kingdom, however. was the
Kingdom. According to the New Testament, Jesus was the emhodi-
ment of God- he was God incarnate, to use traditional terminology.
lie was, thert'ic)re, the wry embodiment of the Kingdom of God.
This is one reason why announced that the Kingdom was
at hand wherever he went. It was at hand, because he was
the embodiment of the Kingdom, Jesus didn't just reveal
what it looks like. He brought it to us. Through his life, minis-
try, death, and resurrection, Jesus estahlished the Kingdom in this
vvodd. Each time a person submits to God's reign, the Kingdom
grows a jittle more. God's ultimate goal, which he promises to ac-
complish eventually, is for the whole earth to become a domain
over which he lovingly rules.
Our joh, as people who submit to God's reign, is to do every-
thing we can to grow this mustard Kingdom in our own lives
and throughout the world. We're to pray and live in such a way that
we bring about God's will "on earth as it is in heaven."
J,,'sus came' to plant this Kingdom. Through his Spirit working
in the liVe'S of all who sllhmit themselves to him, he's expanding it.
This is what Jesus was and is all about. And this is what we who
have pledged our lives to Christ are to be all about. We're to be the
Kingdom and to he used to expand the Kingdom.
BELIEFS AND PLEDGES
It's never hard to tell where the Kingdom is advancing and where
it's not. Where it's taking hold of people's lives, they increasingly
live like Jesus. Where the Kingdom is not pn'sent, they don't.
This contrasts sharply with what a lot of people today think
Christianity is all about. Many Christians, for instance, seem to
think Christianity is mainly about believing certain things. If you
believe Jesus died for your sins, you're " If you don't, you're
"damned." we're saved by "faith alone" and not "works,"
1(J / If! I MYTII \)1 " U I R I STI AN RI:LlC ION
how one actually
Christianity.
isn't centrally important in this model of
Perhaps this explains why so many A m('ricans "vho profess faith
in .kSLlS that are indistinguishable from their non he-
lieving
Now, I certainly agree died for our sins and that we're
saved by faith, not but the idea that Christianity is primarily
about is seriollsly misguided Since Scrip-
hride Christ," try thinking about it this
to my wifc', I certainly need to heliew certain
my wil,' for example. I also nccd
vows to me. But merely believing these
things doesn't me married to her. Believing those things arc
preconditions for my relationship with her. hut they are not them-
thl:' marriage relationship.
I'm married to my wife only because I'm willing to act on my
belief, by pledging my litc' to hef and living faithful to this pledge
every day of my lit(,. This doesn't mean my marriage is based on
"works," as though I had to cam my wifl"s love every day. Rather,
living faithful to my vows is simply what it rneans to be married,
In the same way, we nt'ed to \wl icve certain things to be Chris-
tian, We must accept that Jesus exists, for example, and that Cod
will faithfully keep his word, Hut merely believing thesl' things
doesn't us "the hride of Christ," These are th" precon-
dition for a marriage-like relationship with God, hut they are not
the relationship,
the "bride of Christ" only when we act on our he-
our lives to him and living faithful to that pledge
doesn't mean we're savt'd by "works." as though
we to earn God's loYt'. Rather, living faithful to one's pledge
to is simply what it means to be married to him. It's what it
means to submit to God's reign, It's what it means to bt'long to
And as we do this, we increasingly look like Jesus.
IAN JISUS /17
Owr the yt'ars the media h:ls coined the term red-
Id ter Christians to to believers who believe they're supposed
1\) obey Jesus' teaching and live as he lived. (Some Bihles print
I"sus' words in red the tvrm red letter), What we've seen
,{) far is that there is, in reality, no other kind of Christian, Obey-
tllg what Jesus taught and living as Iw lived is simply \vhat the term
"'( 'hristian" means,
EXPERIENCING KINGDOM LIFE
,iving under the feign of Cod, as modeled by Jesus, is as contrary to
t Iw ordinary vvay of doing lik as anything could he, It's more radi-
and countt'rntitural than most people fl'alize, so much so that it
\\'ould be impossible i()r somcone to live this way hy their own power.
rhis hrings us to the centef of what the Kingdom is all about,
I've that tlw Kingdom is not primarily ahout beliefs, f()r
definition it how we live, But this doesn't mean the
K is about how we livt'. Rather, the reign of Cod
I\d('fines how we live \x'causc it docs something even more funda,
lI1el1tal \"vithin us: it us a whole new hind of Uk (Throughout
this hook I'm going to capitalize Life when reit'rring to this nl'W kind
of Li/c' in order to distinguish it from mere biological or sodallif",J
When we suhmit to the fl'ign of God hy pledging our lift' to
him, he LIS eternal Lik This Lifc' participates in the beautiful
l.if(, of God, It is the abundant Lifc' JeslIs said he came to give us,
It\ the only kind of Lilt' that satisfies our innermost need to t'xperi-
('nce profound love, worth, significance, and security, It's the [
We' were lTeated to shafe with God,
The Kingdom is about living in a radically new way only Ix'cause
it's first and foremost ahout participating in a radically new kind of
I Followers of Jesus live and love like Jesus only hecause they
participate in the fullness of Life Jesus unleashed into the world.
Christlike thing Kingdom people do simply the
Jesus that Kingdom people participate in,
I1II !11ynl (ll A U IIUSTIAN RELIGION
GIANT JESUS
New Testament writers express the truth that the Kingdom is about
participating in the Life or God by refl'rring to JeSlIS followers as
"the hody of Christ."
JeSLIS acquired an ordinary body when he was born in Bethle-
hem, hut now he has acquired a collective hody with the Church.
4
The Church is his hands, mouth, and ff.t't operating in the world
today. The sanw that was in his first hody is in us, his second
hody. And Vit' who helong to this second body take our marching
orders from the same "head" as Jesus' first hodv.
This is why l.uke hegins his work on the "history of the early
church by reminding his readers that in his earlier written Gospel
hc "wrote ahout all that ksus hegan to do and to teach until the day
he was taken up to heaven" (Acts I: I). To say that Jesus "hegan"
to do certain things in his incarnate form implies that ksus is now
continuing to do certain things in a corporate i()rm-through his
Church. In I.uke's mind, his Gospel was about what Jesus did
through his first hody, while the hook of Acts is ahout what Jesus
continucd to do through his second, corporate body.
In otlwr words, Luke sccs the Church as a sort of giant Jesus.
And this nt JesllS is still ministering to the world today.
In the hook of Acts you can also S,>l' that Jesus identified with
his corporate hody. WI1l'1l JesliS knocked Paul oIl his horse on the
road to Damascus, he identified himsdf as "Jesus, whom you are
pt'rSl'cllting" (Acts 9:4). Since had ascended to heaven several
years earlier, how could Paul bc perseclIting him: Ckarly, he was
duing so pl'rsecliting the Church. Jesus apparently considered
whatever happclwd to the Church as happening to him. Pain
f1ictcd on his Church is pain inflicted on his body, as much as when
spikes were driven into his hands and feet on Calvary.
Tht' call to imitate Jt'5US is not something people are to carry
out by their own efhxts. Rather, it's the call to yield to the Spirit
and there'hy manifest the truth that Christ himself is working in
and through us. Christ himself is transf()rming us into his image.
GIANT IISl/S I 1<)
Ihrist himself is working through his corporate hody to carryon
I II\' work he hegan in his earthly hody.
Kingdom people truly constitute a corporate, giant Jesus.
THE BEAUTIFUL REVOLUTION
When people serious about their call to follow Jesus' example,
It's revolutionary. Literally. The Kingdom that Jesus ushered into
t1w world is a revolution. It rellolts. In manifesting the beauty of
( reign, the Kingdom revolts against everything in the world
t hat is inconsistent with this reign.
But the Kingdom revolution is unlike any other the world has
known. It's not a revolution of politicdl, nationalistic, or religious
ideas and agendas, for Jesus showed no interest in such matters. In-
,ked, these "revolutions" are trivial by comparison to Christ's, and
whenever people have tried to transform the K i ngdnm into one of
these revolutions they have trivialized the Kingdom and denied its
('sscntial character.
The revolutions of the world have always hcen ahout one group
trying to wrest power from another. The revolution ksus launchcd,
however, is tar more radical, for it declares the quest for power over
others to be as hopeless as it is sinful. Jesus' Kingdom revolts against
this sinful quest for power over others, choosing instead to exercise
power under others. It's a revolution of humhle, self-sacrificial, Icw-
ing service. It always looks like JeslIs, dying on Calvary t()r the very
people who crucified him.
For this reason, the Kingdom doesn't wage war the way people
do. It's not like the French or American revolutions, in which pcople
rdied on violence to overthrow tyrannical regimes. On the con-
trary, the Kingdom revolution Jesus unleashed wages war by loving
and serving enemies instead of harming and conquering them.
\"fhile ordinary revolutions achieve their objectives using the
power of the sword, the Kingdom revolution achieves its ohjectives
using the power of the cross. While ordinary revolutions advance
hy engaging in ugly violence as they sacrifice all who oppose them,
20/ II1I 1'v1YTlI (11 II CIIRISTIAN RELIGION
the Kingdom revolution advances hy manifesting the outrageous
beauty of God's love that leads people to sacrifice themselves on
hehalf of those who oppose them.
The radical Kingdom Jesus emhodied and established is all
about maniit'sting the heauty of God's love and revolting against
every ugly thing that opposes it.
Christians debate a million complex theological issues. Many
are important and legitimate. But from a Kingdom perspective, all
those issues are st'condary to this one: Are we who proft'sS Christ
as Lord imitating his love, service, and sacrifice f()r others? Are we
individually and collectively participating in the beautiful revolu-
tion Christ unleashed into th" world?'
Villa fa rello/utiull!
'At tht' end of each chapter I strongly encourage readers to go to "What Can
We Do) An Action " beginning on p. I for suggestions on putting
the material of each chapter into practice.
CHAPTER 2
CHRIST
AND CAESAR
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood.
but against ... spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
EPHESIANS 6:12
'T:IE KINCI)()IVIIS 1/0/.Y-- MI ANIN(, "SII'/\RAII, Sf'l AP,\RI, (()NS]( HAILI).
It looks like Jesus, nothing else. We can't simply equate the King-
,Imn with everyth Wl' think is good, nohle, and true. Nor can
we align Kingdom with any nation, government, or political
ideology. The Kingdom Jesus emhodied and estahlished is one of'
;l kind.
When Jesus was on trial, Pilate asktd him if he considered him-
self to he the king of the Jews . ./esus responded, "My kingdom is
IlOt of world. I f it were, my servants would fight to prevent my
<lrrest."
Governments and nations have always relied on fighting to sur-
vive. They punish criminals who threaten their welbre. They go to
war against enemies who attack their borders or stand in the way of
their agendas. This is how the kingdoms of the world maintain law
a nd order and advance their causes.
By contrast, the Kingdom that Jesus embodied and established
refuses all violence, which is why Jesus pointed to his followers'
rt,rusal to fight as proof to Pilate that his kingdom was not of this
world. In fact, when Jesus was arrested, one of his followers tried
to fight in a kingdom-of-the-world fashion. He pulled out a sword
and cut off a guard's ear. Jesus rebuked him and then healed the
guard. He was demonstrating that the Kingdom he was establishing
21
WHAT CAN WE DO?
AN ACTION GUIDE
CHAPTER 1: GIANT JESUS
Returning to the Source. For each chapter I include practi-
cal action steps that can take to put the chapter's teaching
into practice. The first action step for each chapter is a
reminder to "Return to the " I include this in each chap-
ter because it is h)Undational to everything the Kingdom is ahout.
Everything we do in the Kingdom manifests the fullness of Lite
we get from God alone. He is to he our source of Life. We
will find it impossihle to live out the radical, countercultural call
of the Kingdom as our con' sense of worth, signifi-
cance, and security is anchored in God's low felr us, expressed on
Calvary.
I thus encouragl' to commit to continually relinquish all
idols and to return to their one true source of l,ite. Engaging in the
classic spiritual disciplines alone and with other followers of Jesus
is profoundly hdpful in this regard. (For information on these, see
the suggested readings at www.gregboyd.com.)
The spiritual discipline I and many others have found most help-
ful in experiencing Cod's fullness of Life involves the hiblical and
traditional practice of imaginative prayer (sometimes called "cata-
phatic prayer")l Paul teaches that while unht'lievers have a veil
over the minds, the Spirit removes this veil when a person submits
to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3: 16). He then adds,
Where the Spirit of the Lord
with unveiled face, beholding
changed into his likeness from one
175
is freedom. And we all,
of the Lord, are being
of glory to another;
176/1t11 MYII] (l1.llIIR]"TIAN RlLllJlON
for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit, (2 Corinthians
3:17-18, RSVj
Notice that the Spirit-inspired "beholding" Paul speaks of in this
passage is one that occurs in the mind. "The of this age has
blinded the minds unbeli<.'vers, so that they cannot sec ... the
glory of Christ, who is the imag,' of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4, em-
phasis added) But the Spirit has set \wiievers fret' to set' "the light
of the knowledge of the glory of God in the fact' of Jesus Christ"
(4:(i),
In light of this, I encourage you to regularly set aside times when
you the Spirit to help you eXperlt'l1n' in your mind the glory
of Cod in the fact' of Jesus Christ. Cet alone in a darkened room,
put on some lyric1ess background music, and imaginatively sec,
hear, and sense Jesus Christ expressing his perfect, unconditional
love to you, Envision Jesus telling you things God's already said
a{mut you in Scripture, hut now experience hilll cxpn'ssing it to you
personal/y.
You might, for example, experience the Lord looking into your
eyes as he tells you he lovt's you with a perfect everlasting low (kr-
31 :3), that you are his \wloved friend (John 15:5), and that
nothing can separate you from his love (Romans 8:35-39). You
might experience the l.ord holding you as a little child, promising
you that, in contrast to what some others may have done in your
life, he will !lever leave you or forsake you (Matthew 28:20),
It's one thing to know about these truths, but experiencing the
Lord communicate them to you personally is far more transform-
ing. Experiencing the beauty of Christ's love as tht' source of our
core worth, significance, and security sets us free to live in the
Kingdom revolution.
Examine yourself Alone and with friends, reflect on the ex-
tent to which your life mirrors the life of Christ. What difference
does following Jesus mah, in terms how you view others and
spend your time, talents, and resources? If you were not a follower
of Jesus, how would your life look different? Ask God to to
WIIAT
L DOl AN AUION (,lIll)11 I
you aspects of broader culture that you have unwittingly ap-
propriated, especially those inconsistent \vith his
When you discern inconsistencies, don't judge yourself harshly,
Conviction is helpful, hut judgment isn't, Simply remind yourself
that your worth, security, and come from what God
thinks of you as defined hy Calvary. Ask God to empower you
to live consistent with the Kingdom identity and to manifest his
heauty, Ask t('\low Jesus-follovvcrs your share life with to hold you
accountable to this commitment.
CHAPTER 2: CHRIST AND CAESAR
Return to the Source. We can't hope to change tht world until
we' ourselves art' changed, When hrokcn pe()ple induding broken
Christians try to fix the world, we only stlcn'ed in breaking it
further. Our Kingdom impact can nl'v(:'r outrun our own Kingdom
transformation, and tht' kty to personal transformation conccrns
where we go to get Litl'.
We cannot hope to advancl' the Kingdom as long as wt' get any
aspect of our sense of worth, significance, or security from any-
thing other than the King. If we gl't our Lik from our political or
national allegiances, for l'xampk, we will invariably fusc them with
our (now compromised) allegiance to tht' Kingdom, <ll1d we will
to view those opposed to our political or national allegiances
as enemies. To kcep tht' Kingdom holy to live in love, we mllst
consistently return to the one true source of Lik, Jesus Christ.
Set aside regular times when you drink deeply from the infinite
reservoir of God's love. Rely on the Holy Spirit, imagine Jesus
expressing to you all the things Scripture says about you because of
your identity in him.
Process this chapter. A lone and with friends, reflect on how
this chapter impacted you, Did it challenge anything you previ-
ously thought about government, ksus, or the Kingdom of God?
How might you live differently because of you learned? What
questions this chapter raise that you hope will be answered