The Kingdom of God Is A Party - by Tony Campolo

As I was reading Deuteronomy 14:22-29, the passage about tithing hit me hard.

Once a year the people were to bring one tenth of all of their earnings to the temple. And it was not to be used for mission work. It was not to be used for charity. It was to be used for a gigantic party. And anybody who reads the New Testament will discover a Jesus who loved to party with prostitutes and all kinds of left out people.

If our Lord's Kingdom is a group of people who can joyfully celebrate the goodness of life, then we must see to it that nobody is prevented from enjoying The Party. If ghetto kids in Philadelphia have little to celebrate because they have hovels for homes and live in the midst of gang fights, then we must do something to change all of that. (Here he is speaking of Cornerstone Christian Academy -- the first place Joe and I got involved in inner city ministry. It makes me smile to even type the name!)

God is at work through his people. Christians are crying out for justice and are changing the world. They are evangelizing and building the Church. But not until his Son returns to put down the evil kingdom which is also growing will it be time for God's Ultimate Party.

In the meantime we must go to the lonely, the sick, and the dying and tell them, sometimes in words and sometimes by our deeds, that they are loved. Insofar as it is possible , we must party with them. And as we do so, we point beyond those limited signs of the Kingdom to the Great Party that is on it's way.