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God's Kingdom has come near to you! ...

Thursday, Oct 15, 2015. The kingdom of God is one of the popular topics Jesus talks about in the gospels. There are various parables and words about what this kingdom is about. It is not a worldly kingdom. It is not a particular country, nor is it a particular church. But it is where God's spirit reaches humans, where our hearts turn to the Lord and where we start to trust our life into his hands!

God and our Life …

Jesus tells stories about the kingdom of God, and it is good to search a little bit and read what he says about it. It is good, since it helps us to understand what he is up to, and to avoid to be drawn into faulty viewpoints. Let us listen to some of the stories according to Luke 13:

18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his garden, and it grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air made nests in its branches.” 20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? 21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” (Luke 13)

The kingdom of God has come near to you! That is one of the phrases which is repeated many times in the New Testament. It applies to the people who were with Jesus. But it also applies to us today, to you and to me. Jesus sent his disciples to tell the others: God's kingdom has come near to you! Come!

Hidden but real! …

The kingdom of God is where God reigns in our hearts and our mind. The kingdom of God is where the power of God come into the life of people. This power is first the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the power of trust and open ears, of truth and love and obedience with respect to God's word.

Jesus himself tells us in Luke 17 that the kingdom of God cannot be observed with people saying “here it is” or “there it is”. It is there, in our midst, but hidden, yet real and visible by its effects and consequences. It is growing, we hear the parable of the seed and the tree. It is influential. It spreads, where it is alive. It is a deep and fantastic mystery.

The kingdom of God is our hope. It is the only kingdom, where peace and power, love and truth come together in a sustainable way. It is life and future and eternity. It is a kingdom where everyone has his or her place, where joy reigns, this deep joy which comes from relief and trust, appreciation and love. And the fantastic message is: this kingdom has come near to us, to you and to me! We can live in it today and tomorrow and for all eternity. Wow! Come. ... more texts