“Here, then, we are at the heart of Christian theology. God made humans to be his stewards, reflecting his wise image in the world, so that he might himself come into his world as the ultimate steward of creation… Humans were made as appropriate vehicles for God’s self-expression in his world.” (NT Wright, Into the Heart of Romans, p. 53-4)

We are not saved just so we can “go to heaven.”

God’s purposes in this world is a reclamation project from the time of the fall of humanity and his call to us… his salvation… is about joining him in the reclaiming of this world. We are to bear his image, his wisdom, his stewardship, in this world.

It’s hard to realize with all we goofed up in American Christianity that this really is the vision of God for his world. The good news is this: American Christianity isn’t the only boat floating in the Christian world. We just think of it that way.

I have to lean into God’s vision for humanity, seeing it in Scripture as it grows more clear day by day. I have to keep rejecting the piecemeal Christianity that was cobbled together and became the poor substitute for the truth of what the Kingdom of God should be in this world.

Our American Christianity is weak, truncated, and anemic.

The Kingdom of God is vast, powerful, and full of creative life.

With the power of the Spirit, I am to bear the image of God in this world. I am not waiting for our weak view of “heaven.” I am saved for the purpose of bringing God’s reclaiming power to this world.

It is a Kingdom that won’t rely on binary non-starters, like, “Israel is God’s chosen nation, so don’t say anything bad about them” OR “Israel is committing genocide.” I won’t sit in those binaries because the Kingdom of God is greater.

My call is to weep with those who have suffered incredible loss. Israeli. Palestinian. Families that have had their lives upended. Businesses that have had their buildings destroyed. Mosques. Hospitals. Churches. Destroyed.

I am to weep with those who weep.

I am to rage in prayer against power that corrupts. Power that is bent on destruction. Power that is manipulative and self-serving. That power might be raging Jerusalem as well as Gaza City. And I am to call it out and call down God’s justice.

Our lives in Christ mean so much more than a meme on social media. Our raging in fake public forums is not true Kingdom business. It is to work in places where we know the Spirit will operate. If our station in life leads us to people of influence, we move in that direction.

If our station in life calls us to prayer and intercession, we wait on the Lord and then pray his heart.

We do the hard work, not the “binary” work.

Christ has set us free for immensely powerful work, not just so we sit and wait for heaven.