Tangible Kingdom (Week 7 Day 6) "Inevitable v.s. Intentional"
July 30th, 2009 § 1 Comment
I read a quote this morning that I think sums up today’s reading in the TK Primer.
Change is inevitable, growth is intentional.”
The only way we are going to break-through on our missional/incarnational journey, is if we intentionally place things in our lives to respond to what we’re learning. That’s the strategy behind doing the TK Primer in the first place. We’re taking an 8 week intentional step towards understanding the incarnational life and creating incarnational community. But we can’t just simply “allow” this information to be absorbed into our minds without being intentional about allowing it to shape some things in our lives.
I couldn’t help but think about why we wouldn’t want to do that. The biggest reason I can come up with is if we just aren’t quite convinced yet that it will work. There’s a close second as well. Sometimes we haven’t convinced ourselves it’s worth the personal sacrifice (time, money, relational equity, emotional investment, etc…)
In my opinion, those are great reasons to jump in with both feet and just try it. See if it works instead of wondering if it works. To bring Hugh’s quote back one more time, “Don’t laugh off what you don’t do”. When we see the fruit (Both personally and missionally). I think we’ll connect the dots. This is just one way of being intentional.
You cannot think your way into a new kind of living. You have to live your way into a new kind of thinking.” – Richard Rohr, author of “Simplicity”
The quotes ROCKED my world! I shared them all day long! Often times we gripe about change, we complain because it is happening to us just like life happens. What if we were intentional in our approach to life? Better yet what if we were intentional in our approach to God? Can you imagine what Jesus could do and does when we simply come? Go all in with the Lord, He alone can change your heart and circumstances. “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Jeremiah 32:17