Jesus spent his whole ministry teaching his disciples and the crowds what

it meant to follow him. In those day it was not uncommon to gather around a

rabbi’s teaching, but what Jesus taught WAS uncommon. His kingdom doesn’t

always sound like the solid ground we want to build our lives on, which is

what the Wise and Foolish builder parable at the end of  Sermon on the

Mount was supposed to illustrate. Do we want to believe that meekness,

service, self-sacrificing and peacemaking are the key to following him?

Loving our enemies? Not always our favorite, most easily applied parts of

the gospel. And yet any path to unity that includes diversity must

understand the real kingdom work of learning how to overcome our fallen,

human, tribal conflict patterns, and find His path back to love. 

By Hannah Flint