For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. Colossians 1:19 and 20

Have you ever played the game with fortune cookies where you add the words in bed to the end of the fortune?

You will have great treasures… in bed.

You will discover a new talent… in bed.

You will meet someone new… in bed.

It completely changes the meaning of the original fortune you are reading.

I feel like we do this to the bible. Maybe it is subconscious, but we often add so we can go to heaven to the end of our sentences.

Do not lie… so we can go to heaven.

Honor your father and mother… so we can go to heaven.

Love your neighbor… so we can go to heaven.

Be kind to the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner… so we can go to heaven.

We have missed the point, and in doing so, have completely changed the meaning of the bible—the gospel— making it only about going to heaven.

I so often find myself falling back into the trap of sin management. I focus all my energies of trying not to sin… so I can go to heaven.

What if that is not the point of it all?

Jesus, on the cross, defeated sin. We were once slaves to sin but the cross changed that. We had turned away from God, but the defeat of sin allowed us to see more clearly, find God and re-turn toward him; to reconcile with him.

So that…?

So that we can be in relationship with him. Period.

How different would this world be if we stopped trying to earn salvation and started living in relationship?

Do not lie… so we can show our true selves in order to live in relationship with others.

Honor your father and mother… so we can live in relationship with them.

Love your neighbor… so we can enjoy their presence.

Be kind to the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner… so they do not live in shame, which opens the door to joy through relationship.

I know that theory and reality do not always align. What about the father who was abusive? Or the neighbor who doesn’t want relationship? What about the widow who is bitter and cruel? Love them?

Let’s table that for now. I am just setting the ground rules; getting us to dream bigger. We have to live on this planet with nearly 8 billion people for an average of 79 years.

What if we did all this living from a place of relationship instead of a desire to earn salvation? What if we ran this race together? Helping each other to cross that finish line?

What if we were always looking to serve others, and they were always looking to serve you? What if we all worked to lift each other up, to push each other further and to reach higher?

What if it all came from a place of love?

THAT would be something amazing!

That would be good news.

That would be the Kingdom of God.

Seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things (including salvation) will be added unto you.