Kingdom of God can seem like an archaic term, so, for this posting I’m substituting a new term for it:  A Godly Worldview.  There are probably flaws with that term, so, if you have objections  please voice them here!   In any case, we all stake claim to our own worldview.  What’s your worldview?  Does it include ideas like, democracy, capitalism, individual freedom, for instance?  What other beliefs guide your daily living?

Here’s a hard one to grasp sometimes:  being a Christian does not ensure that my worldview is the same as God’s Worldview.  That’s because we aren’t perfect yet (we’re trying to move in that direction hopefully) and we just miss the mark sometimes.  How do we know when we make the mark?  Confusing, isn’t it?

Mark is trying to show us what A Godly Worldview looks like in his gospel.  In chapter 4 he relays some parables that help us shed some light on the matter.   Jesus is said to have taught in parables, a combination of story/riddle.  Why didn’t he just come out and tell everyone directly?  I  have some of my own ideas on that matter.  Have you ever heard someone talk who was passionately for gun control or against it?   If you disagree with them how willing are you to let them know?  🙂   When we become passionate about an idea or cause very often that passion stems from a past experience that  has become part of our worldview.  Once something has become our worldview we resist (maybe even unconsciously) changing our minds.  Sometimes we fight to the death to defend our worldview.   I think Jesus knows that arguments seldom change anyone’s minds and often make enemies.  However, who can resist a good story or riddle?  We listen with our guard down waiting for the point and then stir it around in our  mind trying out different possibilities for what it might mean.  By the time someone figures it out (if they ever do) Jesus would be long gone.

The first parable in chapter 4 is the one about the sowing-challenged farmer!  Really, though, this farmer can’t seem to get the seeds in the right place.  He threw some all over the road and others in unplowed, thorn infested ground.  Some seeds did land where they should – in well prepared soil so that there was a harvest – yeah!!!  Does it seem sometimes that God is careless too about establishing A Godly Worldview here on Earth?  I mean really, just turn on the news and you’ll hear about Swine Flu, the war in Afghanistan, and unemployment rates.  Does this sound like the vision God has for our world?  If God is so powerful, why aren’t we there yet? 

One think I wonder about, though… perhaps it’s God’s job to spread the seed, but our job to prepare the soil???   Good soil is of course symbolic for openess to God’s message.  What must we do to help others become open to God’s message?

In A Companion to the Gospel of Mark M. Rascho suggests one example of A Godly Worldview is forgiveness.  When we live as if we believe that we have been forgiven by God we then take the risk of forgiving others in the same way.  “Our relationships and our world will become a different place because of the power of the kingdom of God [A Godly Worldview] in our lives.”  Our actions plow the relational soil preparing others to receive new ideas and live in new ways.

May you all live this week knowing that you are forgiven and loved by the Originator of the Big Bang, Creator of the Universe.  Each one of us is special and has a unique role to play in preparing the soil for the sowing of the seeds for the kingdom of God.  Happy Holidays, all.  Join us at Starbucks next week to read the Christmas stories.