let's see, what to quote in a 290 page book that i couldn't put down. i guess that's why people book blog chapter by chapter, huh? anyway, where do i start?
what is God's plan? heaven? life after death? yes, but......
heaven is life after death, but resurrection and new creation is life after life after death, and this IS OUR HOPE!
we have a hope in new creation! we have hope in resurrection bodies; in being made new in Christ! hallelujah!
Wright connects the strains of Christianity with which i've had some experience. he argues from the Bible and tradition for the middle ground between the conservative, "it's all about souls, so forget this world and look toward the next," and the liberal, "forget going to heaven, we need to help folks right now." it's about both people!
i'm going to pose a question here, in hopes that someone out there might at least think about it...Wright says that if Jesus is really raised from the dead, then the new creation, the new world has begun in part. and we, those who declare Jesus as Lord, are responsible for living in that new world under the authority of our King, Jesus Christ, even though we wait for the ultimate fulfillment of the new creation...in light of this reality; in light of the fact that we are supposed to live in the power of Christ and under the principles of the Kingdom of God, he asks why we aren't changing the world and challenging the world more often.
he says, "If the gospel isn't transforming YOU, how do you know that it will transform anything else?"
so i ask, is the gospel transformative? do you really believe it? where do you see the gospel transforming the world, your world? what can you do to live in the power of Christ and be transformed that your world might be transformed?
1 comment:
Chad,
Nice blog. Glad you popped in over at mine.
Surprised by Hope is one of the best books I have read this decade. Since reading it I have taught 2 different adult classes this book, leading them through it chapter by chapter. It was very fruitful - great to see a bunch of AH-HA! moments in people young and old alike.
If you are interested, I have written a review of every chapter which I used to give out to people in my class (I figured most of them would not actually read the book for themselves). Each synopsis is on my blog under the category: Surprised by Hope.
grace and peace,
Chad
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