Mar 22

Written by:
3/22/2010 2:14 AM 

    In the Bible study that I am currently involved in, we have spent the last number of weeks talking about the kingdom of heaven. As I have meditated on kingdoms, a couple of things have come to mind. The one thing that strikes me first is that Americans as a whole do not have a good grasp of what exactly a kingdom entails. And the second thing that strikes me and goes along with this is that the understanding Americans do have about kingdoms is generally negative. On a side note, I am also currently in the Babil Province in Iraq, quite literally within 20 miles of the Babil ruins and in the same province where Daniel challenged Nebuchadnezzar some 2,500 plus years ago. These historical ruins in this province were actually the place where Nebuchadnezzar had his southern palace. To be involved in a study about the kingdom in a place where Biblical kingdoms took place is truly awe inspiring.

    In Matthew 13, Jesus uses numerous parables to describe what the kingdom of heaven is like. As a matter of fact, the phrase "the kingdom of heaven is like..." is found at least seven times in Matthew, Chapter 13 alone. I submit to you that the generally negative connotations that we as Americans have of kingdoms comes from the history of our country. Think about what you were taught in school growing up; about how the United States broke away from the "big, bad kingdom" in order to obtain freedom. Believe me, I am probably the biggest fan of our republican form of government and do believe that it is the best form of government available when properly applied. My main point in bringing up America declaring its freedom from England is that Americans do not understand monarchies and generally have negative thoughts toward kingdoms because of this lack of understanding and because of what they have been taught about kingdoms. Along with this, when we hear Jesus talk of the kingdom of heaven, maybe those negative connotations of kingdoms flood our minds. Let's get rid of the negative thoughts that we have toward the kingdom of heaven and realize that Jesus is the "King of Kings and the Lord of Lords." (Revelation 19:16) Full obedience should be our goal. Will we fail or fall short? Of course, but obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22) and God desires us to pick ourselves back up, dust ourselves off, and continue to desire His kingdom purposes for our lives.

    Personally, there have been Presidents of the United States that I have both agreed with and ones I have not agreed with. But, if any of the presidents would have personally come up to me and asked me to do something that I was legally obligated to do, I would oblige him no matter if I agreed with his politics or not, and I would probably do it quickly, efficiently, and to the best of my ability. Why does it seem like we as Christians will many times give reverence to our human leaders, but feel like things God speak to us are optional? Please understand that I am preaching to myself as much as anyone else that might be reading this and that I do understand the balance that the doctrine of the Word has between grace and obedience. However, it seems like the scales of balance have been heavy on the side of grace recently and too light on the side of reverance for the King. There has been a cartoon that I cut out of a church announcements a number of years ago that has been sitting on my refrigerator and constantly reminds me of a Biblical truth: "There are only two ways to do things: God's way and every other way." Please take some time to read and study the seven parables in Matthew 13 that Jesus taught on in order to give His disciples a better understanding of the kingdom of heaven.