The Kingdom of God on Earth

 I've left this post up for posterity. This was my first attempt to start blogging my senior pastor journey. Be kind 😀

The Kingdom of God is the sphere in which what God says goes. It is where everything meets with God’s approval and delight. Jesus wanted to bring this realm, the Kingdom of God, into our realm. Jesus modeled the Kingdom so that all we have to do is take a look at Jesus and how he lived to find out what this kingdom is all about. Jesus’ good news, his gospel, was not, “Here are the minimum entrance requirements to get into heaven...” his good news is that living in God’s kingdom is available to you and to me right here and now. Jesus believed that people would do anything to be a part of the kingdom of God once they figured out what it was. To illustrate this, he told stories about it, earthly stories that people in his time might understand. In Matthew 13 is just such a story. Jesus said the Kingdom of God is like a man who found a treasure in a field. In his excitement, he buried it again and went and sold everything he had to buy that field. This is not a story about real estate acquisition, it is a story about someone finding something they really want and doing whatever they can to get it. The great thing is that this has happened before. There was a group who gave up everything they had to be a part of the kingdom of God. They gave up their time, possessions, families, their securities, and they did it with great joy. They did it high fiving each other and belly bumping...they couldn’t believe they were the ones who got to be a part of this. That this was happening to them. The rich and poor got along, slaves and frees, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, cats and dogs. Luke said this in Acts 2.44-45 - "They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general like what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved." This is God’s plan, that we are so transformed from the inside that we would do anything to see God’s kingdom come to this earth and that little communities will spring up and introduce this to their world. That the kingdom would break in to places like Walmart, Starbucks, the mall, Chili's, and your home. That all across your town and this country people’s lives would be changed because they were exposed to the Kingdom of God. So, let’s do it. What can you do to show people how the Kingdom of God has influenced your life? In so doing, may his kingdom influence others through you.