This may get me in trouble...

People may not like what I have to say here. I'd like to say in advance that I apologize, but not for what I'm going to say, but that you may not like it.

There's a lot of stuff going around about the Newtown shootings, and a lot of it deals with: "We need to get God back in schools."

Newsflash, people: God never left schools. If you truly believe that God is in all, through all, with all, and permeates His entire creation, then he is still there in the schools. He will be there as long as those who wish to recognize his place in their lives do so. But it is not our place to force the message upon those who are not  wishing to hear it. "Let him who has ears, let him hear." I get very put out with those who believe that the entire salvation of every soul depends upon them and their witness alone. That they somehow "let down" Jesus by not preaching him 24/7 to everyone.

Another newsflash, peeps: If everyone's salvation depends on you, what was the Crucifixion for?

Here's a novel thought: if you really feel that God somehow cannot move people's hearts without your help, then preach it without words. Instead of going to your 4th revival service of a week -- where it's truly preaching to the choir -- how about staying at home and having your kids clean out their toy chests or closets to give something to truly needy children? And when the busybodies at church ask you the next Sunday, "Where were you, we missed you" with that sly "I was in church and YOU weren't" tone, you can answer them with "Following Matthew 25 instead of sitting on a pew and congratulating myself on what a 'good Christian' I am."

You want to do something to really make a change in the world? Start doing works of mercy, works of justice, works of peace and stop just talking a good game. Quit wringing your hands over God not being somewhere (as if that's possible - you DO believe that, don't you?) and make him present without words. So what if you (ahem) "aren't allowed to share God" with people? Sure you are: you do it with your actions. If actions alone were a barometer, then I know plenty of supposed heathen who are better Christians than those who warm the pews.

And lest you think for a second I'm the expert in this, far from it. This is a wake-up call to me as well, to do more, to be more, and to best utilize the gifts I've been given to build the Kingdom.

Oh, and if you wondered, the Kingdom is not some far off tomorrow, where we look to a calendar or to the skies and say "When?" Because "when" happened at the Annunciation, the Incarnation, the Nativity, and on.... we live the Kingdom now, even as incomplete and right-here-and-not-yet-realized as it is.

Okay. I'm stepping down off this soapbox. I have others to step up on....... and more to come.