Wisdom for FriendshipsПример

Bringing God’s Kingdom to Earth

Over the last five days, we’ve looked at a lot of significant topics:

• Why community is important
• How to find friends
• How we can navigate conflict and set boundaries
• How friendships can change our communities
• How friendships can serve people beyond the church

By this point, perhaps you’ve started thinking about your next step. Maybe you’d like to find a group of friends, serve in your local church, or volunteer in your community. If so, keep going, and watch what God does through your obedience to take that step.

To wrap up this Bible Plan today, let’s shift gears. Instead of talking about what we’re called to do, let’s talk about why we’re called to do it.

On Day 5, we read the Great Commission, in which Jesus instructed His followers to go and make disciples of all nations.

Today, we’re going to skip ahead—like way ahead—and look at the last chapter of the Bible. There we read:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22:1-2 NIV

They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:4-5 NIV

At the end of the Bible, we find, not an end, but a new beginning. People from every nation, tribe, and language have been healed and made new. All of us will live with God forever and ever.

When you and your friends participate loving your communities and making disciples of all nations, you are helping bring this future to pass. You’re bringing heaven to earth in small yet vital ways, all leading up to the day when God will bring heaven to earth in full.

Don’t lose sight of the size of that impact. Don’t lose sight of that good future—a future God is giving you and your friends the opportunity to have a hand in making.

Consider: What does it mean to you that God is giving you and your friends the chance to help bring heaven to earth?

Learn more about LifeGroups and serving your local community at Life.Church.