May Your Kingdom Come... May Your Will Be Done

        Seek the kingdom of God above all else,
       Live righteously, and God will give you
       Everything you need. ~ Jesus (Matthew 6:33) 

Jesus came preaching the kingdom.  Everywhere he went he had the same message;"The time has come, God's kingdom is near. Change the way you think and act and believe the Good News" (Mark 1:15).

It is Time to Act

Most of us live by the maxim, "Seeing is Believing."  We are slow to act until we see the need to act.  

I grew up in an area that has experienced frequent floods.  Even though everyone living there knows that, most people are reluctant to respond to the warnings to evacuate their homes until they see the flood waters breach the threshold of the house.  Seeing is believing!

There is a major problem with applying that maxim to the things of the kingdom: they are hidden, unseen, often mysterious.  Jesus told a number of parables to illustrate this point.  Here are a few:

• The Hidden Treasure, Matthew 13:44 - the kingdom is like hidden treasure.  It's value can only be known when it is unearthed and experienced. 
• The Pearl of Great Price, Matthew 13:45-46 - the kingdom is like a pearl of such great value that when it is found the merchant sells everything in order to have it.
• The Mustard Seed, Luke 13:18-19 - the kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that when planted in the ground grows to become a great bush.
• The Yeast, Luke 13:20-21 - the kingdom is like yeast.  When a tiny amount is mixed into three measures of flour it's power is released into all the ingredients.
• The Growing Seed, Mark 4:26-29 - the kingdom is like seed scattered in a field.  The sower only plants the seed.  It is God who mysteriously and miraculously gives life to the seed and enables it to grow and multiply. 

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, he instructed them to pray for God's kingdom to come and his will to be done, "on earth as it is in heaven!" Every Sunday hundreds of millions of Christians all around the world pray these words.  But our prayers will ring hollow in the halls of heaven unless we are willing to ACT as well as pray.

Pray for the kingdom to come... Seek the kingdom first

Those who believe God's kingdom has great value, like hidden treasure or a pearl of great price... will invest everything they have to bring in the kingdom.

Those who believe God's kingdom, like yeast, is able to expand and enlarge whatever it touches... will work to kneed the yeast of the kingdom into every part of their lives.

Those who believe God's kingdom has the mysterious power of a tiny mustard seed to grow and multiply wherever it is planted... will carry the seeds of the kingdom with them wherever they go and plant them all along the way.

May we pray for the kingdom to come, seek the kingdom first and walk in the ways of the kingdom until God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven!