Friday I left you with the indication that we were going to be looking into the kingdom of heaven and whether it is here on earth or just something we are going to experience someday. Well I have been looking at especially the gospel of Matthew because this is where Jesus is quoted the most about the kingdom of heaven. Matthew was the most concerned about showing Jesus to be the Christ (Messiah) and the fulfillment of the law and the prophets. In doing so he pitted Jesus against the scribes and Pharisees (the Jewish religious leaders of the day) and much of that discussion centered on the kingdom of heaven, what it was like, and who is getting in and who is not (prostitutes, peasants and sinners: in; Pharisees and religious leaders: out).
Without going into a long dissertation about the kingdom and dissecting numerous verses in Matthew, which I don’t have the space for here, nor is the purpose of this Catch to be a detailed Bible study, let me share with you my conclusion to the matter that those of you who want to make it your own study (and I would encourage you to do so) can find out for yourself. (You should be making your own conclusions anyway, not just accepting mine.)
There is no way I can read all that Jesus says in the gospel of Matthew about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven (he preferred “kingdom of heaven” to “kingdom of God” 6:1) without coming away with the understanding that our experience of the kingdom starts now. We are a part of the kingdom of heaven on earth, and our job is to bring that kingdom to bear on all of our affairs. (Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.)
I believe it is the responsibility of you and me to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. It is our responsibility to find out what is going on in that kingdom so we can know what to make important here on earth – things like peace, justice, mercy and freedom. Why did Jesus heal people if it wasn’t because they will all be healed in the kingdom of heaven? Come into touch with Jesus, you come into touch with the kingdom of God.
How will people you touch today know that they have in some way been touched by the kingdom of heaven?
This is so where the Church needs to be, let us bring the Kingdom to earth and many other issues will automatically be taken care of.
John,
I have always found that John – the exceptional Gospel writer (more than any of the three synoptics) – is more in support of the Kingdom (heaven, eternity, etc.) being NOW as opposed to some “over-there, in the sweet bye and bye” way of thinking. As a result, my personal theology has always been very strongly Johanine in that “Eternity” for each of begins when we are conceived and then simply continues. Hence, death is simply passing through a portal into another phase (if you will) of the eternity into which we entered at conception. As a result, every moment of every day is “holy unto the Lord” and spent in the very presence of Almighty God – a concept that has never been communicated better than it was by Brother Lawrence, so many centuries ago.
Mornin’ John,
First, thanks for all that you have done for me!
Now, where was God when we (man) first met Him? At His home, heaven? No. God was at our home, the garden. As the song says “He walked with us and talked with us”. God wants to come to our home to visit us, but after we sinned, He could not.
When you counsel someone that has been wronged and hurt, you tell them to forgive the person that hurt them. Not because it lets that person off the hook, but because it allows the hurt person to move on. They get rid of the bitterness and hurt to focus on the real matters of their life. Forgiveness is giving up the hurt. When we sinned, we hurt God.
We always say “It’s not about us”. Why do we make the most precious gift about us when it’s not about us? God forgave us for Himself, His pleasure. If He didn’t forgive us, He couldn’t come and visit/live with us. Immanuel!!! The only way for God to come back to our house is through Jesus Christ. Because of the cross, He can live with us again. “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come”. Certainly, we do benifit, but it’s not about us.
I’ve probably not said this very well, but I hope you can understand a little of where this is going.
Thanks,
Kent Burkholder
Nicely done. I like it.
Great post John. It took some time and a few times around several mountains before God led me to the same conclusion myself but I’m doing my best to bring God’s kingdom to bear in the earth by helping and encouraging people with their health, particularly where food and exercise are concerned. An old Arabian proverb states that those who have health have hope, and those who have hope have everything. My ministry – for that is what I consider it – is to love and encourage people into new thinking about their bodies as God’s temple and how we can and should honor and care for ourselves for God’s sake. I do this as a personal trainer, by teaching good nutrition and how to cook healthy, delicious food and by writing about my observations and thoughts about these things from a Christian foundation. Change is very difficult even on a good day and this is no exception. Our stories around food and health are complex and inform who we are individually and collectively on a profound physical, spiritual and emotional level (I don’t think it was a coincidence Satan used food as the means to his end in tempting Eve). My ministry is not to get people to discard their food stories wholesale but rather to help them see how God can help them add new chapters to that story that tell of vitality, renewal, energy, strength, joy, abundance, compassion, grace and of course, hope; in short, God’s kingdom. It is my joy to do this. I’ve included my blog site called All Things New: A Christian Conversation on Food for anyone interested in taking a look.
Thanks for your devotion to God’s kingdom and to us.
Thank you!