Chapter 30

The study of the history of Christianity can be discouraging because Christians have gotten it wrong so often. They have wandered far from what God wants for his people. God offers us life; God calls us to obedience. Too often we reject both. G. K. Chesterton wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Is it difficult to be a disciple? Well, yes. And no. Yes, because God demands everything from us. No, because God promises everything to us, which we observe in the redemptive story. There was a beginning to the story. The setting was the Garden. The first chapter ended badly, which set in motion the rest of the story. This story will eventually come to an end and give way to a new heaven and a new earth. The original setting spelled tragedy, loss, and suffering. The new setting promises beauty, bliss, and endless wonder. We are somewhere in the middle of the story. We know what the outcome will be because Jesus secured ultimate victory. Still, the story continues. God charges us to stay in the story, however confusing and bleak it can sometimes appear to be, trusting that, as Julian of Norwich wrote in the 15th century, “All will be well.” All will be well because God is good. What do you learn about the triumph of the kingdom in the following passages?

Isaiah 2:1-4; 11:1-9; Amos 9:11-15; Revelation 21:1-22:5

What do you learn about the events leading up to it?

Luke 21:5-28; I Corinthians 15

How should we then live?

Romans 8:28-39

G. K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World? I.5 (Robinia Classics, 1910).

The Christian life is strange. God has done everything for us in Jesus Christ. We are a new creation in Christ. It is pure gift. At the same time, God calls us to a life of faith and obedience, of discipline and love, of service and growth. He calls us to become what we already are in Christ. God has made us new. We can relax and enjoy, even as we struggle and fail. We are new. But we must also live that way! Imagine what new might look like in your ordinary life. How can you live now, knowing full well that God is good, Jesus is Lord, and you are a new creation. How will it affect the way you live, think, and feel on this very day? And tomorrow? And the many tomorrows after that?

What did you learn about the End and the Beginning in the chapter, the Bible study, and the spiritual exercise? What questions do you have? What comfort did you receive? How did it inspire you to live?

I Corinthians 15:58

II Timothy 4:7-8