Bring On The Kingdom

Ok, so there will be a serious point here, but first I'm going to rant a bit about the band Kutless whose song is the basis for the serious point.  If you want to skip the rant, scroll down to "End Of Rant."

So, those who are still here.  I've always loved Kutless.  One of my all time favorite songs (music, lyrics and even video) is "Shut Me Out".  I love that era of the band.  More recently they have released a few "worship" projects, which are good, but lacking the band's old driving edge.  So when we were told there was a new project, returning to the band's old sound, I was stoked.  

Sadly, only a very few songs meet the expectation.  Don't get me wrong.  The rest of the album is really good.  It's just that I was expecting a little more....umph.  The opening track, "Tear it Up", delivers in spades.  But from there on, well, not as much. 

However, as I said, this is still a good record.  And while this post isn't just intended as an album review, I had to say all that to work my way up to the song "Bring it On".  While not a classic rocker in the old Kutless style, this is one of my favorite songs on the project.  I love this message, which leads me to the point.....

End of Rant

The new Kutless song, "Bring it On", shares an amazing and encouraging lesson.  And it couldn't be more timely.  With all the recent "gunk" happening in the world, we need more than ever to have the encouragement that comes from knowing that our Lord is returning, and bringing with Him His glorious Kingdom.  Bring it On! 

The song goes like this: 

All the pain in the headlines
All the heartache of our crimes
The innocent, the helpless, here and gone
So we call out to Your name, save us, from our shame.
We’re crying out to heaven, how long…

There’s a new world on the way
When this one is gone, gone, gone
We’re ready Jesus, bring it on, bring it on
We’ve had enough of darkness
We’re waiting for the dawn
There’s a kingdom coming
Bring it on, bring it on, bring it on

We are holding, to the promise
Even now you are with us
Our every hope is in what You will do
Every wrong will be made right
Every tear will run dry
We’re praying that day is coming soon

We’re waiting… We’re waiting for You Jesus
We’re waiting, for You

Wow. What a hopeful message.  We are indeed tired of the darkness, longing for the light, looking for our Savior's return....Bring it on!

Again, what a timely message.  There is, indeed, so much pain and suffering; so much evil on the loose; so much...darkness.  We need the hope of Christ and His coming Kingdom.  I know that there are those who criticize Christians for thinking about that coming Kingdom.  They say that our heads are "in the clouds" and that thinking of the Kingdom/heaven is just an escape from the reality of this world.  I love C. S. Lewis' classic response to that in his book The Problem of Pain.

   We are very shy nowadays of even mentioning heaven. We are afraid of the jeer about ‘pie in the sky’, and of being told that we are trying to ‘escape’ from the duty of making a happy world here and now into dreams of a happy world elsewhere. But either there is ‘pie in the sky’ or there is not. If there is not, then Christianity is false, for this doctrine is woven into its whole fabric. If there is, then this truth, like any other, must be faced, whether it is useful at political meetings or no. 

   Again, we are afraid that heaven is a bribe, and that if we make it our goal we shall no longer be disinterested. It is not so. Heaven offers nothing that a mercenary soul can desire. It is safe to tell the pure in heart that they shall see God, for only the pure in heart want to. There are rewards that do not sully motives. A man’s love for a woman is not mercenary because he wants to marry her, nor his love for poetry mercenary because he wants to read it, nor his love of exercise less disinterested because he wants to run and leap and walk. Love, by definition, seeks to enjoy its object.

Amen.  Bring it on!  In fact, our Lord Himself chose to give us encouragement to face the struggles of this life with the promise that "Behold, I am coming soon."  This is what every true believer longs for. This is what we are working towards.  It's not "escaping" this world, it's putting this world in its proper perspective.  This world is fleeting.  This world is temporary.  This world is coming to an end, and each and every one of us is looking at eternity square in the face.  

Either we will look to that eternity with great hope and expectation, because of the shed blood of Christ which provides atonement for the sin that would separate us from God; or we look to it with dread, or not at all.  Regardless, our belief in it or not, hope in it or not, eagerness for it or not, doesn't change the reality of the Kingdom's coming.  So either we will run to the cross of Christ and seek His salvation and live every day in this world for the Kingdom and in light of the Kingdom; or we will ignore it all, and when it comes, find ourselves in a worse situation than any darkness in this world could ever prepare us for.  

In the  meantime, even while in this world, Christians still live for the Kingdom.  We live with Kingdom goals in mind. We live with Kingdom principles and values.  And yes, we look forward with great hope and longing for the coming of that Kingdom in all it's fullness.  Bring it on!

Now, for your viewing pleasure, you'll find the video for this song below.  

And as an added bonus, I added the video for Shut Me Out.  Just because.