Sara at a rock concert

The kingdom of God is like

Sara at a summer outside rock concert.

It’s the Tuesday you’ve been waiting for what seems like an eternity. Your favorite band is playing and you scored tickets before the sellout date. It’s hot, your legs are sticky and your blanket has grass all over it but you don’t care. The no named opening group isn’t half bad. As the sun starts to set the band makes it out onto the stage and they begin to play their first high energy song. It is as awesome as you had dreamed it would be. As they start to move through their set you glance over at this woman and 

she's intently staring at the stage, hands up, singing, just as everyone else until


 the lyric.

Epic soul moving emotional swelling lyric…you know the one

And everything in her world is still. Is she going to cry? I means it's a really good song, great beat. Why does this lady look like her whole world is being shifted. 

Maybe you should ask her if she's ok. 

or hug her

or offer to by her a beer

or something. 

Your friend slams into you nearly knocking you over and spilling your snow cone all over your shirt.

Here is what the folks at Novitas had to say 

-The kingdom and its thin spaces are different and individualistic for each person. What may move one person may not have an effect on the next. I also think that we see only glimpse of the kingdom and are allowed to experience it with others, before we are jolted back to earthly reality.

(Time travel, I like!)

-Someone will always have a different experience than you and if you focus on wondering why they are experiencing things differently than you than you miss out on the experience yourself

(Sometimes we are so wrapped up in others that we may miss out on what is happening to us in that moment. WOW powerful stuff)

-Extremely anticipated and worth the wait. Something has happened in this woman’s life that is extremely relate able to the lyrics maybe even to the point that it helps her understand her life better. This happens when the music plays and the lyrics have awakened/stunned her soul.

- Your friend just wasted a perfectly fuckin good snow cone

(haha. Could be a waste or the snap back to reality? Maybe? Maybe?)

-When we stop and really hear the song we can’t help but be moved. Sometimes people see it in a different song than I do. Sometimes they listen to the whole concert and never see it at all.

(Awareness and the thin spaces. It’s happening around us all the time. We just have to STOP, collaborate and listen)

-There are times of great beauty and meaning and celebration I life, but everyone experiences those moments in a unique way. Regardless, even in the midst of the greatest moments we are thrown off by giant messes that disturb our moment and sometimes it is our closest friends that causes these messes.

-It is full of anticipation. It is full of motion. The music, the words can inspire and bring meaning both bad and good flooding each person differently. Sometimes even though experience is the same different people will in take that as happy or sad or maybe neither.

-It changes lives, just as the lyric in the song.

Wow this Novitas group really came up with some test explanations. If you enjoy these posts be sure to check out Rob Bells posts with his modern day Parables

Let's back up 48 hours and give some background shall we?

Sara works at a doctors office. She's single, attends the occasional church service and happy hour on Friday with her friends. Day in check day out check. Ever since her closest friend past away she just doesn't feel.

Anything.

No buzz, no rush, no sadness. Her coworkers decided to surprise her with tickets to that new band she's been raving about. Little do her coworkers know is the concert is on the same day that her best friend past away. She just wants to feel connected.

Something.

When Sara hears these lyrics she's moved in a way she hasn't been since her friends passing. She feels it and her heart swells.

The kingdom of God is a place where everything will be made right. No more sadness no more sorrow and we experience life to the fullest.


Bonus question:

What's the lyric Sara hears at the concert?