18 Jun 2010
Kingdom D.N.A.: The Kingdom
Kingdom first
As we begin the exploration of Kingdom D.N.A. we need to have a clear understanding of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 6:33 when he charges us to “Seek first the Kingdom”.
The notion of the “Kingdom of God” is both revolutionary and incredibly simple.
The word “kingdom” comes from the words “Kings dominion” or where the King rules. The Kingdom of God therefore is simply anywhere God rules.
Jesus underlines this in the Lord’s Prayer:
“Our Father in Heaven, Holy be your name, your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.
Of course the Kingdom of God is not yet fully realised.. one look at todays paper will tell you that. Jesus makes it clear though, that seeking that kingdom is our primary task.
I found the way this blog put it helpful:
In the words of J.I. Packer, “The Kingdom of God is present in its beginnings though future in its fullness; in one sense it is already here, but in the richest sense it is still to come.” Francis Schaeffer put it this way: “Christians who believe the Bible are not simply called to say that ‘one day’ there will be healing, but that by God’s grace, upon the basis of the work of Christ, substantial healing can be a reality here and now.” The word “substantial” is key. Not full or complete healing, but real and substantial. This must be our vision.
One of the mistakes the Christian church has made over the years is thinking its job was making Christians rather than seeking first the Kingdom.
This results in an idealogical battle, rather than transformation.
I love that Francis of Assisi said:
It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.
Whenever God’s Kingdom has been noticeably present, it has resulted in much more than people discovering a personal relationship with Christ. It has also transformed relationships, education, politics and economies. The Kingdom of God is about every area of life.
What I hope to show is that there is a “D.N.A.” that is common to every moment the Christian church has exploded, and serves as a useful diagnostic tool to identify what is needed for real Kingdom community transformation.
Every day I will add another element of the Kingdom D.N.A and explore what it might mean to see it work in practise.
I’ve been reading Peter Rollins’ book ‘The Orthodox Heretic”. It’s made up of a number of different parables, some he has adapted from parables Jesus told, and some that come from other reflections either of his own or others.
I read ‘The Pearl of Great Price’ today, which was all to do with the Kingdom. I won’t write it all here, as it would be too long, but if you got your hands on the book I think you would find it to a provocative and challenging read, looking at faith in a way that challenges the religiosity of Christianity.
In the story that struck me today, like the parable, Jesus is telling a crowd that the kingdom is like a great pearl that a merchant sold everything to possess. A bit later, Jesus asks an onlooker what their understanding it is (a young woman standing in the distance). This what she says:
“If this Kingdom you speak of is like that priceless pearl, then the sacrifice needed in order to grasp it will not make one rich but rather will reduce the one who has sacrificed it to absolute poverty. For you are saying that one must give up everything for the pearl, yet the pearl itself is worth nothing unless you find someone to buy it. And if you do find someone then you will no longer have the pearl. So although you appear to be the richest person alive while you have the pearl, in reality you will have nothing to live on unless you tive it up. What use then is this pearl?”
Jesus replies:
“The pearl has no value if all you seek is its value. But if you renounce the value of the pearl and give up everything simply because you are captivated by its beauty, then and only then will you discover its true value”.
(the story is inspired by a relection by Soren Kierkegaard).
heather robertson
June 19th, 2010 at 2:41 ampermalink