The Kingdom of God

Over the last few weeks and months we have been hearing of kings, kingdoms, leaders, what type of people should be elected to parliament. We have been hearing of corruption, drug dealers and that such people should be out of parliament so that we and the generations to come will have a clean society.

We look at the past and say we want change – and so we decide whom to vote for. We want a clean and trouble free society – so some people don’t get elected. We want to live with respect, with dignity. We have to be united – so we see agreements  being signed.

However these are all temporary. They are man-made. Very soon all get fed up with these systems and then start calling for change.

But there is one society, a kingdom in which there is no division, all are equal, no disparity, there is respect for each other, there is sharing, no one is in want, love, justice, and fairness. It is one which is mentioned in the bible and one that Jesus preached about and came to established. It is now and here and within you. That is the kingdom of God.

We are called to become part of the kingdom of God. And the main criteria is Repent! Both John the Baptist and Jesus both preached the same message. In Mt 3:2 & Mt 4:17. In Mk 1:15 Jesus goes on to say repent and believe the good news.

What are we to repent of? Lk 3 John the Baptist is telling the people that they are not bearing fruit. Fruit the behavior, the attitude that corresponds with repentance. The good works. The characteristics of the King.  The call to repentance is for a change of heart. We find that the actions of the crowd gathered did not correspond with the values of the kingdom of God.

When we say sin it always about drinking, smoking, watching movies. Sin is far more than that. The bible tells us in James 4:17 . And in 1 John 5 the bible tells us that. Today the activity of sin can be easily numbered. Because sin is growing day by day. And Christians are being lured into it because they are living by worldly standards and not Godly standards.

  

Therefore secondly you have to let go of worldliness  (Mt 19:23,24, Mk 10:23-25, Lk 18:24). Jesus tells the rich man you have kept the commandments but lack one thing. You are still clinging on to your wealth. Riches can pose spiritual dangers. At times crimes are committed to get them.

On the other hand as John told the crowd money can be got by illegal and wrong ways. Once possessed they can distract us away from God. The bible tells us in I Tim 6:10 We must also remember though that there is a lot of god done with money.

Therefore we are to give first preference in our lives to the kingdom of God and be seekers. The bible tells us seek first the Kingdom of God. To seek his kingdom we have to be in prayer.

Thirdly you have to be humble. Mt 18:3, 4. Now in this verse Jesus keeps a child as a symbol of humbleness. It is difficult to say that children are humble. But mainly children are dependent. Jesus wants his disciples to be dependent on him.

  

Only the humble will be dependant. So when you humble yourself you self-impose limits to your life.

The other thing we see about children are they are receptive. In Mk 10:15 Jesus says………. We have to receive the kingdom of God as a gift. From God. Not created by any human power. Children are good at accepting gifts. Only those who accept the kingdom can enter it.

Fourthly have God’s concern as your concern. When we read about Jesus’ teachings on the kingdom we find that the poor, the oppressed the less fortunate have a special place. That should be our concern too. He tells the rich young ruler sell all your things and give to the poor.

He calls the poor and the persecuted blessed. And in Mt 25 he speaks of the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner. God’s concern for society should become our concern too. Our concern for society has to come without any condition.

People of God! God’s will is that each and every one be part of his kingdom. Lk 13:28-29 warns us that if we don’t change, if we don’t turn our hearts to God, if we don’t repent, if we don’t become humble, if we don’t let go of worldliness, if we don’t give Jesus the center of our lives and activities then we too can get thrown out of the kingdom.

So we have to bring about change in our lives. We have to be united (today we are compartmentalized), we have to give God and his things the foremost place in our lives (today 1^st preference is to the world we live in), we have to make sacrifices (we want the church to adjust to our secular activities), we have to be a bible reading and praying community (importance to worldly ways).  

The kingdom of God is opened to all, those who believe in Jesus, the poor, the oppressed, the persecuted, the gentile. Everyone has a place in it. The kingdom of God is one which is growing. As Jesus says in Lk 13:18-21 it is like a mustard tree and yeast mixed in flour. 

Let us all join hands as one family to become part of God’s kingdom and help continue to built it. Let us commit ourselves to the kingdom of God, that the kingdom values may be instilled in our lives, for the bible tells us those who keep their hand on the plough and turn will not be able to enter the kingdom of God.