Part 3 - What I am FOR - Kingdom Come

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” - Jesus of Nazareth

Imagine finding something that you would sell all you had to buy it. It looks like madness, but it is actually logic in its purest form. Giving up what you cannot keep to gain something you cannot lose.

God is love. All He does is flawless. He doesn’t guess or bluff or pretend. He does - and He does it perfectly. And He always has.

Ever since we began messing up our lives, each other and the world we live, He has been set on making things right again. As Sam Beckett did in ‘Quantum Leap’ - He is putting right what once went wrong. Oh Boy!

His perfect way of being is His intention for us. A harmonious way of life - with every relationship strong and every person secure. Though clearly that is not our experience, we see indicators everyday of the beauty we were intended to exist in; an incredible natural world, a great friend, laughing until it hurts, a loving family, a good meal. All this was ours - but we threw it away for nothing. Now God is ‘making all things new’ again. This is what we call His Kingdom. His way of ruling as King. A rule of love.

I am British. And more importantly I am English. I like cricket and tea. I have a stiff upper lip. Yet for all my badge kissing and flag waving during big sporting occasions and my idyllic perception of decency, tolerance and pretty villages, I don’t regard my self as primarily a citizen of the UK, no matter what my passport says. Nor do I serve a Queen. I view myself firstly as citizen of God’s Kingdom. I belong to The King. (No, not Elvis).

The bit of history we find ourselves in is a funny one. The ending has been written (Jesus wins) but the story is still taking place. I always like stories that tell what you what the outcome is before it begins and then still surprise you in the telling; Romeo & Juliet (“A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life”),Michael Clayton and every episode of Columbo.

We are in the middle of the greatest story, with an incredible ending. But before the final chapter (and the eternal epilogue) there are many battles to be fought. And we are the battle field; our souls the prize. There have been, and will be, many victories but also many defeats, but where His Kingdom is advancing, there is triumph and celebration.

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit” - Jesus of Nazareth

And there it is.

What I have to do.

What I live for.

As I was thinking about ‘what I was for’ for this little series - nothing stood out more than ‘The Kingdom of God’. That is all there is. It was Jesus’ obsession in His teaching and parables. Now it is to be my obsession. All my energies, money, time, resources and intentions are given up to gain that ‘one thing’ and to grow its fruit. The treasure in the field; The pearl of price; Something worth living for; Something worth dying for.

So my constant prayer is 'Kingdom Come'.

dg