Too Small

I’ve always had a problem with preaching that seemed to focus on, “seven ways to… have a healthy marriage… raise the perfect child… financial freedom… (you fill in the blank).” Lately, I’ve started to see why. Even that old cliché that the Bible is our “owner’s manual for life,” is misleading. It misses something—it misses the gospel. It seems we’ve got a problem.

A quick survey of some of the books highlighted on the most resent Family Bookstore flier points out part of the problem. Just listen to some of the titles: Perfect Weight; Self Talk, Soul Talk; 8 Steps to Create the Life You Want; Destined to Reign: the Secret to Effortless Success, Wholeness and Victorious Living; Becoming a Better You; The Elephant in the Room: Sharing the Secrets for Pursuing Real Financial Success. Oh, and the list could go on. Even books on the Bible or on Spirituality seem to be focused on one of two things: how I can survive this world, or how I can turn this world to my advantage. Both are unbiblical.

I’m still working things out in my own mind and heart and life, but here’s what I think I think I’m starting to see… what I’m beginning to understand. First of all the Bible is not an owner’s manual. It’s more of a love letter. But even that, though closer, misses the mark. The point, though, is it’s not a book for us to use to pull out “secrets” in overcoming this world, or in trumping this world and getting a “one up” on everyone who doesn’t have these secrets—that, it seems to me, smacks of Gnosticism.

The other related thing is that no where in the Bible are we told that our ultimate goal is to escape this world. No where in Scripture are we told that we need to somehow hang on and survive this horrid and troubled world, and wait for the day that God will zap it all. The Bible is not a book of escapism; it’s a book of transformation.

We are not to hide from this world (in our churches and our ecclesiastical sub-cultures). We are not to compartmentalize our lives (Church over here, and the world over there—and we play by different rules depending on where we are). Again, we’re not simply to survive this world (hanging on till that day when our “souls are set free”).

We are supposed to engage this world in a way that brings the Kingdom of God. We are supposed to engage our world in a way that knits heaven and earth together—even if only in a small way. We are supposed to engage our world in a way that transforms, renews, and redeems creation.

We are called to be change agents, living by the laws, principles, and values of God’s coming kingdom. We are called in implement the new age of the Messiah that Jesus has inaugurated by his life, death, and resurrection. The problem is, it seems to me, we’ve settled for something far less… something far smaller than God’s grand and glorious plan of bringing his kingdom to this world, of his will being done on earth as it is in heaven. Our vision is too small.