Day 15 - A Hidden Kingdom

 

Day 15: Matthew 13

A HIDDEN KINGDOM

Read Matthew 13 here first

We don't think of kingdoms much anymore. It feels a bit outdated now, we have democracies and politicians. I love films involving kingdoms though, as they often have huge battles in with armies defending it, armies attacking it, and a king at the centre, miles away from the battle, who must be protected at all costs. I'm glad I don't live in times where I'd need to be a warrior. I'm an accountant. With a dodgy knee. If I had to be a warrior, I may as well give up, lie in the mud and wait to die. It'd be easier.

When we think of a kingdom, this is so often what we think of. Castles, armies, strength. We think of a king ruling over his people, and we think of a people willing to die for a king. When we think of the kingdom of heaven, it does have some of these aspects, but it's also so much more than that. This is a kingdom where pain will cease, where joy will last forever, and we will live in close relationship with the king. Every tear will be wiped away and there will be no sickness.

The great, life-changing truth is that Jesus has welcomed us all into the kingdom. Not because we are strong, or wise, or rich, but because we are His people. We are welcome into the kingdom because of grace. Our place in the kingdom of heaven is something to be grasped and accepted, not something to be earned.

Jesus talks in Matthew 13 about so many aspects of the kingdom of heaven. He talks about it being like a treasure in a field that it is worth everything. Jesus tries to get us to see just how much better this kingdom is than what the people see in the world around them. Jesus knows that as people grasp this kingdom and really understand its value, it will pour out onto the earth and transform lives. As Jesus speaks about it spreading like yeast, and the good soil, he knows that as people get hold of what he says, they will be so passionate and fuelled by God's spirit that the very world around them will change.

This is the kingdom we are a part of, called to be involved in as it works its way through the world. When we recognise the beauty of it, we become transformed from simply salespeople of the gospel into witnesses of the only thing in this world that matters. We can invite people into a place where they can have closeness with God, and live for something of real value.

This is a kingdom which people need to be told about. Jesus doesn't mince his words here, but talks about the consequences of not being part of it. Jesus warns the people here that a life without God will end in the most horrendous eternity, where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Therefore, the responsibility comes to us to speak of the kingdom. It is our job to share the truth of this message. It is a tough task, but it is certainly no tougher for us than it would have been for the disciples who took it on and faced death.

Our world is hurting. Our world needs the kingdom of heaven to break in and change things, as well as needing the promise that they can spend eternity with their creator. It needs reminding that life isn't about building our own little empires, but about a greater kingdom of love which has come to us and shown us what we are worth more than anything on this earth could ever give us.

For the kingdom to change things, the citizens of the kingdom need to rise up, find their voice and speak. Not just to speak against things all the time, but also to speak for things. To speak words of hope and wisdom. To point the world to what really matters. To speak of a great kingdom which we have been invited to, a kingdom that has transformed our lives.

The world needs this kingdom of ordinary people to live selfless lives, where their words are backed up by action. It needs a people who are passionate about God, people and justice, so that our words and our lives are infectious. It needs a people who don't just create arguments in the media, but that get their hands dirty in reaching out to the poor, the rejected, the broken, for those who do not have a voice. A people who will serve others and pour themselves out, not for their own ego but because it's the right thing to do. I truly believe that if, as the people of God, we can know what it is to live this way, we will have a right to speak. I believe that people would want to sit and listen to us because we live with such integrity and love that it changes the world around us. It sounds like a huge call, and I really wish I was better at it, but I look at Jesus and think this is really the way it must be. Even when the doubts come in that I won't be able to match up to it, I know the truth is that if God lives in me then I can do so much more than I see in myself at the moment. If I want to be part of a different kingdom, living a different way, then I must constantly look to the king.

The greatest thing about the kingdom is ultimately the king. In any historical story or film, the king is to be protected at all times, with armies of ordinary men laying down their lives to keep him safe. Jesus reverses all of this. He comes as a king who doesn’t sit safe in the castle, far from the battle. He comes as a king to lay down his life for an army of ordinary people, that one day he may welcome them home.