shortlady
Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2005
- Messages
- 2,696
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. (Matthew 4:17 NRSV Bible)
You may have seen the bumper sticker: "Jesus is coming and boy is he mad." Most of what we hear in our society today is about the kingdom of God that is to come. But there is another kingdom we can be apart of today.
Jesus' first sermon began like this: "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." Nearly all of Jesus' parables begin with "The kingdom of God is like...such and such...."
The interesting thing is that most of Jesus' references to the kingdom of God are to a kingdom that is already here. "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed...the kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in the field...the kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price...you are not far from the kingdom...the kingdom is within you...etc." The kingdom of God is not only a state of existence to come, it is also a state of mind, here and now.
I remember a story of a six-year-old boy who was assisting his mother with some spring gardening. The mother was absorbed in her work while the little boy explored the miracle of things that grow. All at once the boy picked up a daffodil bud, and sat down on the ground, and studied it. Then with his two little hands, he tried to force it open into a full blossom. The result, of course, was disappointment and a mess: limp petals and a dead flower.
Frustrated, he cried out, "Mommy, why is it that when I try to open the buds, it just falls to pieces and dies. How does God open it into a beautiful flower?"
Even before his mother could answer, a broad smile broke across the child's face, and he exclaimed, "Oh! I know! God always works from the inside."
That is a beautiful parable of God's community and kingdom. God's works from the inside.
Dear God, continue to work on the inside of me to make me one of your beautiful children. Amen.
Ron Newhouse
You may have seen the bumper sticker: "Jesus is coming and boy is he mad." Most of what we hear in our society today is about the kingdom of God that is to come. But there is another kingdom we can be apart of today.
Jesus' first sermon began like this: "The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel." Nearly all of Jesus' parables begin with "The kingdom of God is like...such and such...."
The interesting thing is that most of Jesus' references to the kingdom of God are to a kingdom that is already here. "The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed...the kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in the field...the kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price...you are not far from the kingdom...the kingdom is within you...etc." The kingdom of God is not only a state of existence to come, it is also a state of mind, here and now.
I remember a story of a six-year-old boy who was assisting his mother with some spring gardening. The mother was absorbed in her work while the little boy explored the miracle of things that grow. All at once the boy picked up a daffodil bud, and sat down on the ground, and studied it. Then with his two little hands, he tried to force it open into a full blossom. The result, of course, was disappointment and a mess: limp petals and a dead flower.
Frustrated, he cried out, "Mommy, why is it that when I try to open the buds, it just falls to pieces and dies. How does God open it into a beautiful flower?"
Even before his mother could answer, a broad smile broke across the child's face, and he exclaimed, "Oh! I know! God always works from the inside."
That is a beautiful parable of God's community and kingdom. God's works from the inside.
Dear God, continue to work on the inside of me to make me one of your beautiful children. Amen.
Ron Newhouse
