"Shalom" in Friday Harbor
Last weekend Bryan and I had the great opportunity to lead an event for highschoolers from my home church in Friday Harbor. Sylvia Sullard, the youth pastor there, has been leading the group all year in a study of the Kingdom of God... whatever that is. It's not talked about too much in sermons, and it is often reduced to another phrase for Heaven. As such, it doesn't seem relevant to us today, and it is easy to figure we'll just find out when we get there (wherever 'there' is).
But since learning about poverty and economic development from the Biblical perspective at Eastern University, the Kingdom has come to be deeply relevant for me. My college experience with InterVarsity at the UW, which started me wrestling with racial reconciliation, also started my longing for Shalom and the Kingdom. These deep, troubling, 'impossible' issues are where we most need a strong theology of the Kingdom.
So I was excited to participate in God's work in these kids, opening their eyes both to the vision of what God intended, as well as how far this world falls short. And to share the good news that God is at work, that Christ died to reconcile each one to Himself, and one to another.
More to come in another post...