An Open Group exists on FB where we are committed to "kingdom living together"! What follows is the most recent post based on my reflections of "Salvation Belongs to Our God" by Christopher Wright:
Excited about exploring Matthew’s words together: “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”…Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Mt 19:16, 23, 25)
“Eternal life”, the “kingdom of heaven”, and “being saved”, according to Matthew, appear to have everything to do with life NOW (today), not only our glorious future.
Jesus taught a prayer along these very lines, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” (don’t miss what follows) “on earth as it is in heaven.” He also proclaimed, “the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus' victory over evil ushered in once and for all this “new way of living” (kingdom living ). Now, it’s not “new” in the sense that it was a completely new idea God just dreamt up but “new” in the sense that finally, victory over evil has come and now because of Jesus and through Him kingdom living is possible, never perfectly of course since evil has not yet been completely eradicated, yet, we continue to move toward that “One day” (that people like to talk so much about but may tend to forget the now Jesus also intended)…living the now and yet pressing on as we look forward with anticipation for that time when evil will finally be done away with and all things will finally be made new. :)
Until then, we are God’s conduits thru which all things are “being made new”…every day (which includes this very moment)…the things we say or don’t say, the things we do or don’t do. Look back at that phrase again, “it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” – the difficulty lies in whose reign you are deciding to live under today…the reign of God or the reign of something or someone else, and it has everything to do with a person’s heart. Jesus is making a connection here with his other words, “where your treasure is there your heart will be also”…and “you cannot serve both God and money.” Its not the “richness” (haha, I’m making up words now) that has a person stuck, it’s the state of one’s heart that’s in question…who’s reign are you choosing to live under (where's your treasure), was the real question!
Which happens to be the same question for us today…with all that you’ve been given (or not)…wherever you have been graciously placed in this world, TODAY…whose reign are you living under?
Learning to live in God’s kingdom together…have a blessed day! : )
Excited about exploring Matthew’s words together: “Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”…Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven…When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” (Mt 19:16, 23, 25)
“Eternal life”, the “kingdom of heaven”, and “being saved”, according to Matthew, appear to have everything to do with life NOW (today), not only our glorious future.
Jesus taught a prayer along these very lines, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” (don’t miss what follows) “on earth as it is in heaven.” He also proclaimed, “the kingdom of heaven is near.” Jesus' victory over evil ushered in once and for all this “new way of living” (kingdom living ). Now, it’s not “new” in the sense that it was a completely new idea God just dreamt up but “new” in the sense that finally, victory over evil has come and now because of Jesus and through Him kingdom living is possible, never perfectly of course since evil has not yet been completely eradicated, yet, we continue to move toward that “One day” (that people like to talk so much about but may tend to forget the now Jesus also intended)…living the now and yet pressing on as we look forward with anticipation for that time when evil will finally be done away with and all things will finally be made new. :)
Until then, we are God’s conduits thru which all things are “being made new”…every day (which includes this very moment)…the things we say or don’t say, the things we do or don’t do. Look back at that phrase again, “it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven” – the difficulty lies in whose reign you are deciding to live under today…the reign of God or the reign of something or someone else, and it has everything to do with a person’s heart. Jesus is making a connection here with his other words, “where your treasure is there your heart will be also”…and “you cannot serve both God and money.” Its not the “richness” (haha, I’m making up words now) that has a person stuck, it’s the state of one’s heart that’s in question…who’s reign are you choosing to live under (where's your treasure), was the real question!
Which happens to be the same question for us today…with all that you’ve been given (or not)…wherever you have been graciously placed in this world, TODAY…whose reign are you living under?
Learning to live in God’s kingdom together…have a blessed day! : )
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