Living Under the Reign of the King
By Dean Collins
In those days, some 2,000 years ago, Matthew tells us that John the Baptist preached “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” In the very next chapter, after John the Baptist had been arrested and jailed by Herod, Matthew informs us that Jesus preached the same thing: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Unless I am really out of touch with the current state of my community, the United States, and the general health of our worldwide culture, then the same message preached in “those days” might be what is needed in “these days.”
John the Baptist had the task of preparing the way for Jesus to be introduced to the world. After he baptized Jesus in the Jordan River, his primary job began to fade away. Jesus was now center stage in preaching and teaching how everyone needed to repent, have a change of heart and mind, and receive the kingdom of heaven that Jesus talked about.
The problem we have in understanding is that we tend to want an address or location for this kingdom. If we could just drive into the parking lot and walk through some golden doors and see the physical kingdom, then maybe all we would have to do is give others the address and they could check it out and see if they want to buy in. But the kingdom of God is not a vacation rental or timeshare deal that we can check in and out of when we need a little spiritual renewal.
The kingdom of heaven, or kingdom of God, is not a realm; it is a way, or maybe better, any place that God reigns. So, to be specific: when we repent and surrender our lives to Jesus, he begins to reign in our lives. We often talk of Jesus as King or Lord, meaning that he reigns over our lives. This means that the ways of Jesus are to become the ways that we live.
How did Jesus live? Well, all four of the gospels tell us that story, but a good summary of what it looks like to allow Jesus to reign in all we do is to read and follow his teachings. Matthew 5 through 7 is a compact teaching that provides us with a good summary of what it means to live like citizens of God’s kingdom.
While many of us will never write or preach a great sermon to hundreds or thousands, we have a significant and far reaching sermon that we can live through our lives. Our words, attitudes, behaviors, and generosity can and will reveal that God’s kingdom is on the move and that one day Jesus will return to renew all that is broken.
It is important for us to read all about the things that happened in those days of the past. But our main job now is to live and proclaim God’s love in these days. When we live like Jesus, I suspect we will regularly see the kingdom of heaven is in fact near.
Father, today we accept your reign in our lives. We declare you Lord of all. Holy Spirit, transform our minds and hearts that others might see Jesus in our lives today. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Matthew 3:1-3, 4:17 ESV
Photo by Pexels
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