Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Jesus Cropped from the Picture

Ministry becomes an expression of God’s ultimate purposes, lived out in daily life. Christians can find peace by allowing God to guide them in light of his plan for the ages , rather than straining to discover a personalized plan for their lives . All of an individual’s life can then be oriented around a single theme: God’s work to progressively destroy the devil’s kingdom through Jesus Christ. This theme provides every individual believer with a lifelong Kingdom task, but without the anxiety of accomplishing it alone. Dr. Don Davis likes to describe the enormity of the Kingdom by comparing believers to a lady bug, on a leaf, floating down the Amazon. His point is that while individual work on the leaf is important, most of the activity is achieved by the movement of the river . The immensity of God’s Kingdom grants believers comfort and security because he does the “heavy lifting.” Finding Meaning David Wells summarized the work of Reinhold Niebuhr, who said that throughout history individuals have found meaning through family, community, and craft. 61 Until recently, nearly everyone had a stable family, lived in community, and was fairly certain what their lifelong job (craft) would be. They could spend their lifetime honing their skills as a “butcher, baker, or candlestick maker.” Unfortunately, in America there has been a meltdown of the nuclear family, and community has been replaced by globalization and flat networks (often found in electronic media). Also, the industrial revolution demolished most opportunities for a lifetime craft. Without family, community, and craft , individuals are now left to form

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