It is easy for us to add to the message, isn't it? It is easy for us to expect things from lost people which are addendum's to the Gospel message. Jesus' simple message was proclamation that the kingdom of heaven was here. There is a choosing (that's for you W.D.) that must take place. "Will you be of this earthly kingdom or of the heavenly kingdom?" is the question of the Lord.
Some coalesce certain extra-biblical expectations with belonging to the kingdom. I mean, Jesus did say "By their fruit you will recognize them"; much of the time, however, the fruit we look for has nothing to do with the heavenly kingdom. I am as guilty as anyone at imposing pharisaical check-lists when considering who is of the kingdom and who is not.
The sermon of our Lord was "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." I believe, therefore, that our message to the world must be the same. There are a couple of implications for us:
- Does my life reflect kingdom living or pharisaical nitpicking? Do I reflect eternal perspective or love for the things of this world? Am I focused on living with Jesus every second of the day or one day a week from 10:45-noon? If the kingdom of heaven is here in Jesus, am I of it or just talking about it?
- The problem with using my pharisaical check-list to judge whether or not I'm of the kingdom of heaven is not because it is too much. The problem is that it's not enough. The easy way out would be to make being of the kingdom of heaven merely a list of do's and don'ts. As I meditate on this this morning, I think being of the kingdom is much more than that. Deducing it to a list leaves living with Jesus out of the picture and makes it something we do on our own. (Jesus kills that perspective in the Sermon on the Mount, which we'll begin tomorrow.) We cannot do it on our own. The kingdom prevails--Jesus prevails--we prevail only as we live in that victory.
- If the kingdom is at hand, and if that is the message we are to not only heed but convey as Christians, how is that done? I mean, look around. Watch the news. How can you convince someone that the kingdom is at hand?
In correlation with number 3, let me leave you with this thought gleaned from Dallas Willard's The Divine Conspiracy. If you are familiar with Willard, forgive me this simplification of a brilliant mind: "The kingdom of heaven is "at hand" means that it is "right here," represented in what I am showing you in word and in action." It is not "at hand" once you have bought a suite and tie, or once you have attended church, or joined church, or read the entire bible, or etc. If we are to convince the world the kingdom is here and that they should be a part, we must not impose our pharisaical check-list on them. What we must do is show them, in word and action, what the kingdom looks like. Living with Jesus every moment of every day.
I hope that, if you have a minute, you'll leave a comment about living in the kingdom of heaven now. Let's hammer it out together.
