August 11, 2013
The Kingdom
The farmer’s son was returning from the market with the crate of chicken’s his father had entrusted to him, when all of a sudden the box fell and broke open. Chickens scurried off in different directions, but the determined boy walked all over the neighborhood scooping up the wayward birds and returning them to the repaired crate. Hoping he had found them all, the boy reluctantly returned home expecting the worst
“Pa, the chickens got loose,” the boy confessed sadly, “but I managed to find all twelve of ‘em.”
“Well, you did real good, son,” the farmer beamed. “You left with seven.”
Expectations can be difficult to deal with. The boy in this story expected there to be a dozen chickens in the box, so he went after his expectation and not his father’s. The same happens to Christians who are given life-goals and expected to live to them. Still, the lesson is applied that we get what we expect; great expectations, great results.
Then there are the expectations of God, our Father. When we attach His desires for us and accept what He has made ready to give, the result is most often surprise that so much has been there for us all along. Luke 12:32 begins our featured scripture by relaying words of Messiah, “Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Wow! Did you get that?
The Kingdom of God is an amazing but an often misunderstood concept. Confusion begins in some minds with the phrase in the Lord’s Prayer, “thy Kingdom come,” that is misconstrued to mean the second coming of the Christ, when the Great Teacher will sit on a throne and rule the world with an iron fist and force all our enemies to see Messiah as we see Him. This forced-harmony idea, however, goes against God’s gift of free will, loving God because we want to and not out of fear. The forced-understanding concept would necessarily mean that only one group of right fighters will actually be correct. Today, every dogma can bask in their feeling of rightness, but how would such wide-spread differences of opinion square with Yeshua on a throne? If a person, group or denomination thinks they are absolutely right, will they argue their point-of-view before a King Savior, much like a trial in the U.S. Supreme Court? Do we think Immanuel will judge a collective thought, or individual actions?
Since Jesus made the statement, “…for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom,” he must not have been referring to some distant event meant to settle scores between believers. The Kingdom, then, is not about right fighting, but right living with each other.
Luke 17:20 and 21 helps us understand a bit better. Once again, we are quoting the Master, “the kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, none will then say, ‘Lo, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
In spite of what the Christ said, there are many who feel that the kingdom has not been accomplished until every person on earth is a unified believer. This idea does not line up with the quote in Luke 17 that I just read.
A kingdom is “a realm associated with or regarded as being under the control of a particular person or thing.” The Greek understanding comes from bas-il-i’-ah, which indicates realm, and is a derivative of Greek for, the notion of a foundation of power or sovereign. Note the word’s similarity to the one used to mean the Roman Catholic seat of power, Basilica. To further refine, “realm” means a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. Applying these understandings to our lives relative to “the Kingdom,” we see that as a community of believers, all involved look to the seat of our individual power—source of our strength, Master of the Universe and controller of our actions, thoughts, motives, reactions and lives. If there is one source of control, how can disunity have such rule over our actions and worship? Is it fair to say that living in the kingdom of God means unity among its subjects?
Perhaps you have seen a family situation where siblings are arguing while a parent is trying to tell both something important? If the kingdom plan is for unity of understanding and love, how is it that we are so divided? Our desire to be right is crowding out the message. No wonder it’s the Father’s “good pleasure” to give us the kingdom. No doubt, the Father desires unity of purpose.
Now, verse 33 has the Master focusing on the importance of being a part of the kingdom compared to things. He said, “Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” This directive is not given to everyone or a crowd, and certainly not the apostles, because they had already sold everything to follow Messiah. These words were directed at the seventy we previously discussed. (See Acts 1:15 and Matthew 6:19) The point being made by Messiah was that stuff on earth does not make up the kingdom of God. By converting your possessions to currency and giving alms, means your deeds are given from compassionateness as a benefactor to lift another, much like God gives to each of us. Such action involving earthy things, such as money, is not out of line with the kingdom of God, because when you give you are acting on God’s behalf to allow needs, such as hunger, to be met so the soul can be free to participate in the activities of the kingdom. Alms does not involve enabling someone to participate in destructive behavior, but in the things of God and His will.
By giving to each other as we have need, we perfectly meet the next statement by Messiah, “for where your treasure is, there will your heart will be also.” As we give alms, our heart follows and we become intensely interested in the recipient of our alms, just as God is deeply interested in us as He gives and meets our needs. Should our hearts follow our treasurers as we give? If you want to be like God and His love, yes.
It’s pretty easy to judge the intensity of our own hearts toward others and even our church by what we give. Are you giving enough of your time, money and energy to really care?
It’s been more than 16-years now that I have been involved in mentoring a beautiful family. That many years is long enough to see children become adults and have their own families. Of course, there have been gifts of all kinds, but the most important gift from me has been my time and energy as mentor. This is my testimony that what the Teacher said is true, that your heart will follow your treasure, and my heart is certainly with this family. They have become a treasure to me in many ways. This is how the treasure statement by Jesus works in our lives, and mentoring is a great way of giving of your knowledge, self and wisdom to benefit another. Love has resulted from these gifts, and it is true that I have received in multiples the love I have given them. This family has changed my life for the better, and I trust my love for them has resulted in positive change. Do you see how making a difference in another person’s life, within the context of the kingdom of God, changes your heart too?
Like the sequence of events that led to meeting the family just mentioned, you never know when God is going to place the right people in your path and call on you for action. So, in verse 35 we read, “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.”
There are so many needs in the world and huge opportunities to build the kingdom of God. Yet, like the family I have come to love, I didn’t know the opportunity was going to happen suddenly and with such great need. Neither you nor I can meet every need in the world, yet there are enough believers already in the kingdom that we can make a serious attempt toward those solutions. The idea is to never miss an opportunity to respond to a midnight-type call for action. “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit,” the Master said. Those lamps are the light of truth that burns in every believer’s heart, known well enough to share that truth when called upon.
What happens when we are ready with “lamps lit”? We are told in verse 37, “Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them.” This banquet of blessings is from God himself, and the fact that the master becomes the servant shows a level of gratitude for obedience not seen among humanity. When we honor a person God has His eyes on, our reward is over the top.
Then the positive flow of the scripture takes an interesting and negative turn. Verse 39 reads, “If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.” Jewish culture of the time divided the night into three sections, or watch periods. Without door locks or night lighting, the only ways to protect property from thieves was staying awake and physically defending the house. Why does this 12th chapter of Luke go from God unloading a boat-load of blessings to defending your property? This verse is an emphasis on being ready to respond to God’s call to build the kingdom, and not be surprised if that opportunity happens in the middle of the night, nor misread such a chance to advance the kingdom. What we think is our possession alone, such as understanding a scripture or our denominational theory compared to another Christian, may be challenged by the necessity for service in the kingdom. Does not the question demand to be asked? What is more important, a dogma or kingdom service?
In this context, the 12th verse then makes sense, and it reads, “You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” Hebrews 13:2 puts it this way, “And do not forget kindness to strangers, for by this, some who, while they were unaware, were worthy to receive Angels.” Not one of us can predict that the next person in our lives; the one standing in front of you in the supermarket check-out line, next to you in a classroom or on your basketball team, is an angel or not, yet they are all candidates to be members of the kingdom of God. And, we do not know when the final opportunity will be to connect a worthy soul to his Master and creator.
It is our duty to recruit new citizens into the community of believers, because when we do, we silence another misguided voice that would have had an opportunity to hate or destroy, lead others to nothingness or waste lives. And, the word “community” leads us to understand that we need each other. The kingdom strengthens each of us in love for one another, but we must be of one Lord.
How can we bring the kingdom of God to our fellow man? The answer is found in Matthew 12:28, where it reads, “If it is by the power of the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” This is an example that when we bring the blessings of God to another person by means of service, giving alms, time, love, care, even food, the kingdom of God is demonstrated and brought to that recipient.
If it were God’s job to recruit new subjects into His kingdom, then why would Luke have reported that WE be ready with our lamps lit? There is no room for somebody else to do what we are supposed to carry out, or even say, “Let God take care of it.”
Imagine the kingdom of God alive in every soul on earth. What would life be like? Would we then live in a state of utopia? I doubt it, since we would still struggle with decisions of justice and responsibility, yet we know the world would be a much different place if we would follow the heavenly Code of Conduct and be the neighbor we were meant to be.
It’s no wonder that so many different thoughts emerge about the kingdom of God. There never has been agreement among scholars on the theological meaning. Still, we know that this kingdom is not related to geography or physical borders. This kingdom is of the heart where we have room for God and His love, wisdom and grace. This place is where we can make room for the majesty and splendor of the King creator of the universe. As amazing as this thought and dream is, we lack the celebration of this kingdom through music, which may be because we have yet to universally understand the kingdom of God and what it means to humanity. How sad that something so important to God’s elect and central to the teachings of the Master, be largely ignored, except for songs titled, “I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord,” “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God,” and “The Kingdom of God.”
There have been attempts at explanations of the kingdom, including one by Leo Tolstoy, yet this great Russian novelist who took a shot at understanding through logic in a work written in 1874 and through a literally circular manuscript, wrote hundreds of pages without truly understanding. How could he actually comprehend without being in the kingdom and participating in the glory that flows to and from subjects of the Great God? To the outside observer, the kingdom appears as something to control hapless people, drawing the curtains on the splendor that shines within. If the kingdom is only seen as a control agent, then the point is missed altogether.
The boy who gathered twelve chickens when there were only seven to start with, is somewhat like the One on the throne of our hearts. We know there are blessings and great joy in this kingdom, but to see such bounty of peace, joy and love is far beyond human expectations.
Be ready! Stand tall with your lamp of truth lit and be willing to share the amazing and wonderful news of the kingdom of God. Invite this control into your life so you can be free. Sounds strange, doesn't it! However, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Did you get that statement? Listen to it again, “it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Amazing!
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, amen.
©2013, J. Tilton
