Best served

It's Cool in the Furnace

Looking the wrong way

Last Friday we had our spring musical and BBQ at St. Paul Academy.  "It's Cool in the Furnace"–a telling of the story of Daniel and his buds Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in a heated situation.  (For more read the first 3 chapters of Daniel in the Bible).  I could say a lot about how proud I was of everything–but I'd rather say a little.  It was a great night.  They are great people.  A lot of hard work.  One thing I like to do when I go to big worship service, a performance, a concert, or something similar is to watch what everybody is doing.  No I don't mean I like to people watch–I do that at the airport and the mall.  I mean I watch what everybody working the event is doing.  I often find myself looking the wrong way because to me, what's going on up front is only a piece of the show.  I like to see everything that it takes to get an event going–the orchestration of it all.  It's definitely something to see.  Last night I saw a lot of servants.  Servants doing things they liked to do, were trained to do, maybe even were born to do (we might have a future actor or two).  Now here is the best part–nobody was more important than anyone else, and nobody was working harder than anybody else.  Everybody was doing there part–and it was just happening.  And, unless I looking you the wrong way, I might have missed it.

The proper ingredients

One of the things that I believe–am wholly convinced of–have swallowed feathers and all–is that God's Kingdom is filled with all kinds of different people.  I don't mean red and yellow, black and white.  I don't mean tall and short, guys and gals, old and young.  I don't mean any of that–although it's all entirely true.  I mean it's full of people who like different things, who are good at different things, who excel at different things.  And,  just one of the cool things about God is that he uses us just as we are.  Jesus didn't pick guys that were just like him to follow and be His 12 witnesses.  God used all kinds of people throughout the scriptures to serve Him.  Different people and one God.  Different strengths, and one God.  Different times, and one God.  Different personalities, and one God.  Different problems, and one God.  You get the idea.  The constant here is God, and what He does with His people.  It's undeniable.  Something beautiful happens when God's people get together.  It's beautiful.  Let's just take a second to gawk at it.


Plan A

What if God's Kingdom had to be that way?  What if you need to be in His Kingdom–here and

now– because you fulfill a specific role?  I believe it is so.  Here is the really cool part.  It's not like God is just working with what He has available.  I do not believe He looks at us and thinks to himself, "now what to do here?"  You are not lemonade because sin in the world has given God lemons.  Are we sinners?  Yes.  Is sin still a hauntingly relentless factor.  You betcha.  But having particular strengths is not a result of sin.  And God's Kingdom (here or heavenly) doesn't make us the same.   Will we be good at everything in heaven?  I have not clue.  Will you continue to excel in what you are good at now?  I have not doubt.


Exponential 

There is an extremely cool idea that C.S. Lewis plays around with in his novel "The Great Divorce."  Lewis writes fantastically about a group of travelers taking a bus ride to just outside the gates of heaven.  They find out that inside the gates God has glorified the strengths and weaknesses of people in the Kingdom of God (heaven).  Strengths are better.  Weakness have been transformed into beautiful things.  I think Lewis is on to something.  What if in the future Heavenly Kingdom, what we are good at now is made exponentially better in the service of others and God's Kingdom.  What if you are going to be more YOU in heaven?  The glorified you–the non fallen you.  What a glorious thing indeed.  So I want to rejoice in all kinds of service now.  Not just what's going on up front on the stage, I want to rejoice in the whole production of life.  That's you–however, wherever, whenever you serve.  Serve God.  Serve others.  What's the best way to serve?  Well...like you do.

-DK