Just What is the Kingdom of God?

 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.     -Matthew 4:22

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.     -Mark 1:14-15

These words are among the first recorded out of Jesus’ own mouth, and these words are the Gospel that he preached. I find it interesting that not only is the Kingdom of God largely absent in Gospel that I preach, but up until this year, I could not have told you a thing about it if asked.  So there lies the question: just what is the Kingdom of God?

Unfortunately, Jesus never really gives us a black and white definition of the Kingdom in his teachings, and as a result, there has been unending scholarship/study/debate on this topic stretching back for years. Just for kicks, I “googled” books with “The Kingdom of God” in the title, and one link alone produced about 600 results (go see for yourself).  Despite this, there is hope (a great hope at that)  for us to learn and know and experience this profound truth. Although Jesus doesn’t explicitly define what the Kingdom is in one or two definitive statements, he does give us a wonderful repertoire of sayings, parables, and teachings that guide us to a deeper understanding. Here are a just a few thoughts to consider:

1. The Kingdom of God is both here and still coming.
2. The Kingdom of God is of upmost value.
3. The Kingdom of God brings with it fantastic transformation.

I am planning on addressing this topic in 3 more installments to keep the word count to a minimum. I’ll talk about the points above, and although I don’t have all the answers(or barely even a few), hopefully this will encourage you towards a deeper understanding of what God has done for us.

I Think. A Lot.

There are few things in existence more joyous or, at times, more perilous than our ability to think.  I really enjoy thinking. Now I’m not speaking of the everyday, shallow, and  instinctive thought processes like “where can I find my next meal.” I’m talking about deep, profound meditation. The kind of thinking that takes you into magnificent realms of knowledge and truth that you’ve never explored before.  Seriously, imagine a world without the mind. No processing information. No learning. No seeing. No experiencing. No faith.

My mind can be a daunting thing to manage, but amongst the chaos, there are some pretty cool thoughts that somehow pop in there. I’ve recently found  importance in treasuring those moments and writing the good thoughts down (hence the blog). Here’s one I jotted down the other day:

•  God is worthy of All glory, All honor and, All praise. There is no faculty, no sub-atomic reality, nor any power on this earth that is not completely subject to Him. If He were to stop, so would the entirety of existence as we know it. Reality would be wiped out, reduced to nothing. Not in a slow, deconstructing process of course, but in an instant. There would be, then there simply would not be. This notion alone brings with it a full demonstration of God’s ultimate, overarching glory both in this world and beyond. So then, it can be said that the very fact we exist is enough to drive one to reverent worship and thanksgiving. It is not only as if each “breath” is a gift, but it is as if every little piece of phenomenon necessary to compose the “next moment” in our finite realities are a gift – one that we do not deserve.

And to think the Gospel hasn’t even been mentioned yet.

All things considered, I suppose I should be thankful for the ol’ noggin that God has given me, no matter how difficult it is to control. Even though it can be my own worst enemy, the mind is a fantastic tool given to us by God, to worship God, for the glory of God.