God's kingdom is a place where lost things are found. As we realize we were lost and he has found us, we understand the treasure we are in his eyes. And having grasped our belovedness, we can join him in helping others see themselves that way, too.

We were born to be with him and bring others into his presence. He reconciles us in our broken state to himself and asks us to invite others to the party. He wants us to think and to dream about this - it's a passion of his that he wants us to share.

That's what kingdom journeys are for. When you go on a kingdom journey, your journey with God starts out being about you and your needs. But if your journey is long enough, at some point you come to grips with your own brokenness and then rediscover yourself in the light of how God sees you.

Towards the end of the journey, with the perspective of all those miles behind you, you may see God begin to use the hard parts of your journey to bring healing to others.

Once you start caring for the world as God cares for it, your own needs shrink. Whatever little hangnail I've got can't compare. It looks like war-torn country. It smells like a cesspool.

You only find the kingdom as you partner with God to do something about it. Someone needs to get in the cesspool of pain in this world.

And as we share this dream of his, we see what an incredible thing it is to partner with God. We see how wonderful it is to help a person see that God loves them. If you've experienced it, it may have been the high point of your life.

God longs for us to join him in touching the world with his love. It's his dream. To join with God in helping others experience his love is a privilege and we need to take hold of it. It's a purpose to which we must commit.

Maybe that sounds like evangelism to you. The word "evangelism" sticks in a lot of people's throats like a bone. They equate the term to acting like a kind of a religious used car salesman in a cheap suit.

The problem is that when Jesus asks us to share the gospel wherever we go, we complicate his assignment with threadbare words.
 
Perhaps you've never experienced the sense of utter despair that comes when you feel abandoned by God. Perhaps you've forgotten what it was like to feel God's embrace for the first time. When we understand how so many people feel, it is so much easier to embrace the ministry of reconciliation.

And God promises to show up.