The Comming Kingdom

We just got done with a political season where the two presidential candidates raised close to two billion dollars between them and here is the thing that not only intrigues me, but makes me sad.  Who gets elected from the President of the United States to local city and state government, people voice their opinion.  It ranges from the elected officials are going to get us back on track and save us, to they are going to ruin this city, state, or country by running it into the ground.  These two opinions and every other one has been voiced since September.  Here’s the thing, not much has changed since the birth of Christ in the first century. 

            The nation of Israel was in an uproar because not only were they trying to follow God through a list of rules and waiting for the Messiah, but they were under Roman rule as well.  Which means that when in Rome, you play by Roman rule, which didn’t sit well with the Nation of Israel.  The Israelites were hoping that their Messiah was going to come and over throw the Roman government and set up God’s Kingdom.  With in this hope, there was a group of Israelites known as Zealots, who took it upon themselves to initiate the coming Messiah by taking on Rome and trying to defeat them.  There was even this thought among Jesus Disciples that He was going to over throw the Roman Empire to set up God’s Kingdom and Jesus rebuked them.  So my question is that what does the Kingdom of God look like and how does it get put into practice on a daily basis. 

            I think there are three ideas that help us usher in God’s Kingdom, and by no means is this list exhaustive and the end all be all of.  The first Kingdom concept  is focus on ones heart and our relationship with Him.  If we are not growing in grace and maturity, are we really participating in God’s Kingdom.  God’s Kingdom requires a focus change from being a me first kingdom, where everything circles around me and my happiness, to putting God first and others second.  It is a realization that doing it our way ends in destruction, not matter how good our intentions our.  The other two kingdom ideas really come out of this idea of putting God first and not only making him our Savior, but the Lord of our life as well.  The second Kingdom is loving God with everything we have and others as ourselves.  It is realization that the world is bigger than my needs and wants and its not always about making sure that I am happy.  It is living that transformed life and maturing in God to who He has created us to be.  The third Kingdom concept is that we act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.  In other words, what does our earthly relationship look like?  Are we showing mercy to those we like and to those we have a hard time of liking.  How about acting justly, are we giving back the extra changed we received at the local store, not for who we claim to be, but it is the right thing to do.  Being a part of God’s kingdom is being in right relationship with God and others and how we interact with them on a daily basis.  With in this, we are not only bringing God’s justice, but we are bringing people into right relationship with us, others, and God.  This means praying for God’s blessing on people, even the ones we don’t like and who may be “out to get us.”  It also means forgiving people and seeking forgiveness, because being in right relationship often requires not only forgiveness, but it can also mean restitution.  So where are you at in God’s Kingdom?