A Little More, A Little Less

To exercise more.

To eat less.

To read more.

To work less.

To do more gardening.

To do less drinking.

To be on time more.

To smoke less.

I heard today that the average date that we abandon our New Year's resolutions (For those of you, like me, who annually and proudly murmur that you do not make New Year's resolutions, please consider making a resolution with me to no longer annually and proudly murmur that you don't make New Year's resolutions) is February 18th.

Seriously. We "resolve" to do something... we are "resolute" in it, and the average point at which the wheels fall of the wagon is somewhere near the middle of February?

Yup. Sounds a lot like me.

It feels a little old hat to even talk about New Years resolutions here on this blog... because the discussion is all over the news, browser home pages, the radio and on three or four newsletters from churches I receive in my inbox. And I'm sure its at our offices where folks joke about their resolutions, and some people proudly murmur that they don't make them (please see above) and many people quietly, in their hearts and heads wish that they could summon the courage and the discipline to change their lives for the better... even when their lives are pretty great anyway.

So in spite of this feeling a little cliche, a little old hat... I want to mention New Year's resolutions, because I want to suggest one for you. For me.

In the middle of all of the more resolutions, and less resolutions... "do more of this, and less of that"... I want to suggest an alternative. Or maybe something larger... something longer lasting, and I want to be very very direct to you: it can do more to change your life than these other petty things we put so much stock in and worry over.

I want to encourage you, this year, to resolve to bring a little more Kingdom, and a little less earth. To everything you do, to everywhere you go, to everyone you meet and everything you know.

(That Suess-ish rhyme was fully unintentional, but cute so I kept it in there. Maybe it can stick in our heads.)

I find it profoundly symbolic that in Matthew 3:1 it says that John the Baptist brought the message that "the Kingdom of Heaven is near" to the Desert of Judea. The Kingdom of Heaven coming near (through the life of Jesus) brought unfathomable love, mercy, grace, humility, but also showed unquenchable power to a people living in a spiritually dry and thirsty climate.

When we're honest with ourselves, we normally tend toward just bringing things of earth to everyone and everything around us. I mean it's hard not to redistribute to others the stuff we're hit with all day... the broken wisdom and carnal messages of this world... even in the context of church: Anger. Judgment. Wrath. Malice. Greed. Selfishness. Manipulation. Lust. Control. These leave the spiritual, mental and emotional land dry and burnt in the lives of so many, including followers of Jesus.

But to bring a little more of the Kingdom of God, in the form of the love and grace of Jesus, the peace that comes in knowing the extent of your own mercy and the mercy others are heirs to because of what Jesus has done... doing this brings something profoundly good and life-giving to a spiritually dry and thirsty land.

So here's a scary question: What if John the Baptist was also referring to us?

I mean after all - we are called by God to be Kingdom-bringers, right? Yes, John was referring to Jesus coming near... but we are to be a part of this story as well. Jesus passed the call on to us to continue, through the help of God's Spirit living in us, to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to others, to earth.

"In those days John the Baptist came to the desert of our hearts, preaching...


...to the one who wonders if they will always be alone. 
...to the family who sacrifices everything to keep up with the Joneses.
...to the one who feels so inadequate. 
...to the one who failed. Badly. 
...to the outwardly successful, but inwardly wounded.
...to the angry. 
...to the housewife who just wants to be seen, known, loved and cherished. 
...to the spouses who don't know how to love unconditionally. 
...to the sexually broken. 
...to the one who is ashamed of how much they've squandered. 
...to the one who is frozen solid with fear. 


...repent (metanoia - change your way of thinking), for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. In fact, it is standing next to you right there... and is breaking through in fits and spurts and bits and pieces... sometimes in huge victories and other times in small breaths of grace, love and mercy.... through him... through her... through this one and that one and oh yep that one over there. The Kingdom is closer than you think, and oh, what you will find there."

So join me.

Join me in being a part of what John the Baptist was talking about when he came to the Desert of Judea preaching, "The Kingdom of Heaven is near."

Join me in making our resolutions about something bigger... something larger than the aesthetics of life. They're good and all... a little push back against your own flesh isn't so bad... but let's talk about larger things... eternal things... things that change our lives and influence those in the deserts around us.

Only you, with God's help, can know where He's pushing you, stretching you, growing you... challenging and maybe even rebuking you. Maybe you, like me, have much "more" and "less" to bring:

Maybe a little less angry.
Maybe a little more forgiving.
Maybe a little less driven by money.
Maybe a little more driven by mercy.
Maybe a little less comfort-worship.
Maybe a little more comfort-ing.
Maybe a little less desire-for-me.
Maybe a little more give-to-you.
Maybe a little less fighiting.
Maybe a little more grace.
Maybe a little less accusing.
Maybe a little more defending.



To everything you do.
To everywhere you go.
To everyone you meet.
To everything you know.
Bring a little more Kingdom, and a little less earth.

(I really do like the rhyme)

I cannot think of a more powerful way to begin the process of spreading the good news of Jesus.

Be His, my friends.
Happy New Year.