Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. – 2 Timothy 4:2

The word in New Testament Greek is logos – a word (as embodying an idea), a statement, a speech. Roughly translated it could mean “the big picture”. What’s the word, the big idea, the thing that gives meaning to our lives?

There’s a popular description of the big picture that goes something like this:

Creation → Fall → Redemption → New Creation. God created mankind to be good, but Adam and Eve sinned. Fortunately Jesus came and died for all our sins, and he’s coming to take us back to heaven.

First of all, that’s not really an answer – it’s just a narrative. We end up being passive spectators of a story we aren’t really involved in. Really cool creation. Too bad man sinned. Thankful that Jesus came to save us. Looking forward to heaven. Please pass the popcorn.

Secondly, this positions mankind as the beginning and the end, instead of God as the Alpha and Omega. It’s a summary of human history, but our purpose can’t be found inside our own story. There has to be a bigger context.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” – Revelation 1:8

Let’s imagine the heavenly realms before creation. There’s God, as the Trinity – the fullest definition of love, joy and peace. There are angels, basking in God’s presence, though some of them have rebelled. A lot is going on before we showed up; his kingdom existed long before Jesus came and announced it to us.

Our part, all of human history, is about how we respond to our King and Creator. He made a space for us that isn’t heaven, to see who believes in his promise that we get to go there. He gave us time to decide, our whole lives, to repent and believe. God created the whole universe, space and time, for us to respond to his grand invitation. And he entered into it, as Jesus, to reveal himself to us in a way we could understand, and give us a way to enter his kingdom.

Where we’re going is a wedding between multitudes of believers and Jesus. Then we spend eternity reigning in heaven with him.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. – Revelation 22:1-5

I’m sure there are dozens of ways of summarizing this better. The point is, the big picture is about God and his eternal kingdom, not us and our human history. We are to invite people into God’s kingdom, not our ministries. Let’s preach the word.