The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God’s Kingdom on Earth. Dallas Willard

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      Today, we as disciples of Christ have the same opportunity and responsibility to abide in, and then manifest, shalom as a blessing for others as well as for ourselves. This is a significant aspect of what being a “light” to the world entails (Matt. 5:14). In everything we do and say, in word and deed, in worship and work, in politics and play, truly in all things—not just religious things—we are blessed to be a blessing to others around us, leading them toward shalom. And until this occurs, our world surely groans as it waits for just such a reality to be revealed (Rom. 8:18–23). It is these leaders, representing and maintaining the wonderfully rich and robust example of integrity of character in fulfilling honorable duties, who exemplify and testify to the truth and goodness of God in a way that promotes, establishes, and maintains shalom for the benefit of all. If there is to be a next stage to the so-called spiritual formation movement, this must be it.

      In 2 Chronicles, God says:

       If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (7:14)

      The Chronicler reveals a significant result when God’s people seek righteousness—the land is healed. The entire land. From sea to shining sea, one could say. Not just believers, not just God’s faithful, but everyone in the land reaps the benefits of God’s faithfulness to his people.

      The scope of this blessing is what separates this work from the earlier books in this series. They necessarily focused on the individual realities of life with God, depicted primarily in Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. This work focuses on the responsibilities and opportunities inherent in the communal life that will come to the fore once the Sermon on the Mount has been applied. This new life is intrinsically tied to our relationship to our neighbors, our communities, and by extension our global community. It is the public “other,” the ethnos or nations, those in all ethnic groups and from all walks of life, who can and must taste and see the eternal quality and quantity of life that is available in the manner and means God provides. The tasting and seeing of God’s goodness in tangible, discernible ways is intended to lovingly woo people into willing obedience. Jesus wishes to bless all, everyone, at all times and in every condition. Such is the nature of the Good Shepherd.

      Reaping the benefits and dividends from the applied ethos of the kingdom of God requires neither profession of faith nor understanding of how or why such blessings exist. God loves the world regardless of whether he is known or appreciated. Yet Christian leaders throughout society can never move forward into the areas of responsibility for manifesting the good life Jesus provides until there is a settled resolve regarding who we as disciples are called to be and must become. This is the arena of personal character formation from which all other activities of the good life are intended to proceed, first individually, then into and through our communities.

      DISCOVERING MEANING AND VISION

      Our world faces an overwhelming and unswerving epidemic of existential impotence, which can only be caused by an equally sweeping malignancy. The problem—our problem—lies in the shadows of the human heart. Unless and until the human heart absorbs and employs the sovereign goodness of God, the flourishing our societies seek will remain elusive, and the very means used to attain prosperity will end up only hastening our demise. As the writer of Proverbs predicts, we will return, again and again, to our regurgitated schemes (Prov. 26:11; 2 Pet. 2:22). Someone, somewhere, somehow, must break the cycle of moral relativism that creates substitute plans for human salvation and instead attempt to apply the answers in the vision God has provided. That this is widely assumed to have already taken place is a primary indicator of the depth of the problem Christian leaders must develop the courage to face.

      This work endeavors to sketch a framework from which those who are ready and willing to take up the cause of the general welfare and flourishing of the public at large can proceed. To accomplish this, we have organized this work around the areas of society to which Christian leaders must turn their attention and influence in order to manifest the kind of flourishing God desires for all people. These areas can be defined as the institutions of government, education, business or commerce, the professions, and ethics. When these areas and their leaders come under the influence and direction of God, we can and will experience the kind of healing and flourishing human beings have searched for, longed to experience, and died trying to build. When leaders, spokespersons, and professionals (often synonymous terms, yet sometimes delineated for specific purposes to be defined and discussed later) become organized within the critical institutions of our society to most positively influence contemporary life for the common good, blessing, goodness, and grace will flow over the land as the waters fill the seas (Hab. 2:14).

      What we hope to present here is the all-important sense of vision and perspective that will focus all our many efforts to seek and attain a life worth living for ourselves and our loved ones. What follows in these pages is not an attempt to outline a new gospel, but to reveal the radical implications for all of society of the original good news Jesus brought to earth. We want to provide a perspective to leaders and citizens of the way the gospel Jesus proclaimed can affect and transform our societies and lead them to shalom. This is not a Faustian effort. It’s a revolution that happens one heart, one leader, one family, one neighborhood, one organization at a time.

      An ancient parable tells of a traveler journeying through a medieval village one morning on his way to visit a relative in a distant town. As he enters the village through the far gate, he quickly encounters a stone carver struggling to load a very large, recently honed boulder onto his cart. The traveler asks the laborer, “What are you doing?” Frustrated under the weight of his task, the stone carver grunts to the stranger, “I am working for my bread.” As the traveler continues through the village, he comes upon another laborer shaping a large stone with chisel and hammer. He asks the second stone carver, “What are you doing?” The laborer answers, “I am an apprentice perfecting my trade of carving stone.” Finally, on the far edge of the village the traveler comes to another laborer sanding and smoothing his recently fashioned stone. He asks the third stone carver, “What are you doing?” Sweat dripping from his face, the laborer replies with pride, “I’m building a cathedral.” We are building more than cathedrals. We are building the very kingdom of God.

      The Divine Conspiracy dealt directly with why we might want to repent of our past understanding of life and living. But we can’t stop with why. We have to get into what Jesus is doing and will do about his project of overcoming evil with good while simultaneously transforming the kingdoms of our contemporary world, individually and collectively, into the kingdom of our God and of his Christ, who will reign forever and ever. The what of the kingdom life comes into greater focus and ceases being such an overwhelming burden when we discover that it is found within the easy and light yoke directed by the hand of an expert guide and friend. We can know how to live, move, and have our being in the shalom of the Good Shepherd. Jesus introduces us to that reality and proves that we can know where our hope and power to thrive lie—both individually and communally. He frees us to actually find what we are looking for, right now, where we are, if we want to.

      It is time we focus on what we must do to build the foundations for life and living that Jesus articulates and then helps to manifest among us. For those ready to engage the topic of our collective life with God that will eventually consume our lives for the rest of eternity, let’s take a step into forever, now.

      GOD’S KINGDOM AND THE CALL OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

       Discussion Questions for Chapters 1–3

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