Along Fault Lines

The catastrophic events in Japan are heart breaking. I can’t even get my mind around such a disaster. I know there have been many such incidents in the past and likely more in the future, and humanity is no stranger to tremendous suffering; but nonetheless it’s tragic. Our prayers and aid are essential right now.

All the news commentary and explanation on how earthquakes and tsunami’s occur got me thinking. The Kingdom of God is built squarely Along Fault Lines. And we shouldn’t even wonder about why Kingdom stuff divides people, because it does.

In Luke 2:34-35; Simeon the old prophet whom Mary and Joseph met while taking Jesus to be dedicated at the Temple, spoke a very profound and fearful warning. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.”

Wow if that’s not a serious fault line I don’t know what is. Simeon spoke God’s promise that Jesus would shake things up so much so that it would scandalize the world. Scandalize to the degree that ALL would be revealed. That what we thought was level He would overturn and what we thought was crooked He would straighten out.

In Isaiah 8:14 we’re told that Jesus the very fault line of human history would; “…be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.” Jesus was destined to scandalize the nakedness and shame of all modern as well as ancient religion.

He came into this world like a mighty earthquake. Oh they may not have noticed the trimmers at the time, but everything about the Kingdom of God is built Along the Fault Line that Jesus Christ creates within the context of humanity and creation. Matthew 21:44 tells us we either fall in all our brokenness and honesty upon Him or He will fall upon us like a mighty conqueror and crush us like an enemy.

Either way He’s a fault line. Either way He’s going to upset what we hold dear. Either way a choice will be made. Because ever since the fall of mankind, the Kingdom of God has been built Along Fault Lines of our idolatry, our infidelity and our selfish will, therefore when the ground shakes and shifts all our folly will come crashing into the crevasse of His Sovereignty.

No matter how you view it; our world is built upon the greatest Fault Line in the cosmos, and soon the pressure will be released as all heaven and earth are shaken beyond our wildest imagination, so we will ultimately know what’s real and what’s not. (Hebrews 12:25-27)