In studying Jesus' three-fold ministry, he went throughout Galilee [a] teaching in their synagoges, [b] preaching the good news of the kingdom, and [c] healing every disease and sickness among the people. [Matthew 4:23] A plenitude of Jesus' parables begin with "The kingdom of heaven is like. . ." When the disciples ask Jesus why he speaks in parables, he replies, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them" [Matthew 13:11]. Very enigmatic, Jesus.
When we pray as Jesus taught, we ask for God's kingdom to come [Matthew 6:10]. However, I feel a lack in our church on teachings regarding the kingdom of God. If God's kingdom came, would we even know it had arrived? Instead, I turned to the internet to quench my curiosity and found (after a long list of movie links) that the first relevant teaching on the Kingdom of God was from a Catholic Encyclopedia. In summary, this is what it describes as the kingdom of God:
The kingdom of God means, then, the ruling of God in our hearts; it means those principles which separate us off from the kingdom of the world and the devil; it means the benign sway of grace; it means the Church as that Divine institution whereby we may make sure of attaining the spirit of Christ and so win that ultimate kingdom of God where He reigns without end in "the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" (Revelation 21:2).Reading it again still makes me go "huh?" but I like how the first point says that the kingdom of God is the ruling of God in our hearts. When we make this our first priority, what will our lives look like? Jesus' Sermon on the Mount says:
So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [Matthew 6:31-33]I don't have any concrete conclusions on how to pursue this kingdom, but I do believe that it's worth seeking for and I do believe that I've tasted it--I experience it through the hearts of fellow brothers and sisters who gather together to do God's will.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing your musings & findings on the kingdom of God. It is not a kingdom that is seen, but one that is unseen. I needed this reminder to listen & talk to God, trust Him & allow Him the Lordship in my life, moment by moment.
So who are you teaching Sunday School with? I couldn't figure it out (my memory failed me when I tried to remember who your CGL was this year)!
I'm teaching with Mel Lam! I get to teach about Jesus tomorrow. yay!
I do think that the kingdom of God does reveal itself visibly sometimes, but we need to be looking out for it.
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