Living or Dying?

In a recent blog, my friend Frank mentioned this quote from evangelist Tony Campolo:

"Even if there were no heaven and there were no hell, would you still follow Jesus? Would you follow him for the life, joy, and fulfillment he gives you right now? I am more and more convinced each day that I would. Don't get me wrong. I'm excited about the afterlife. We are going to party like there's no tomorrow (umm, and there won't be). And yet I am convinced that Jesus came not just to prepare us to die but to teach us how to live."

I'm also pretty convinced that faith is less about the beauty of what lies ahead and more about the beauty and goodness that surround us now, though too often hidden and obscured. What a difference it makes to stop and realize that even now, even at GSU, we are in the midst of God's Kingdom. The faith that Jesus offers us is about letting God retrain our hearts and minds to see that Kingdom in our surroundings every day ... and to know that God is with us, even here, even now.