a child of god
this is the way, run in it
What is the kingdom of God like? the now and not yet fully here Kingdom of the LORD God? "The kingdom of God is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it (JOY over it!) he goes & sells all he has, and buys that field" (Matthew 13:44). This is one of my favorite verses in the bible. I've always treasured it - no pun intended. :) When I read it, my heart leaps in my chest and says, Yes! That's how I feel. And I hug that knowledge, that relationship with God, the knowledge that Jesus is my Lord, to my chest, and delight in it, like a little kid. Matthew 13, the chapter, gives many little vignettes into what the kingdom of God is like, to describe how precious this knowledge about God and what He has done for us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16), is like. In the middle of the chapter there is a parable, though, that is different, and yet still on topic. It is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Verses 24-30 tell this story. Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”' In the now but not yet of the Kingdom of God, we, the servants and disciples /followers of Jesus are meant to be about kingdom work. We are supposed to be sharing the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ with everyone we meet, sowing seeds for the kingdom, telling them about this treasure God offers to anyone who will believe. In the midst of that, the enemy, God's enemy and ours, Satan, is sowing seeds of disbelief and hardness of heart in anyone he can. He is against God and against God's people. So in this parable, the servants of God are aghast when they spot the tares growing in the middle of the wheat field. Jesus goes on to explain that the wheat represents us, the people of God who believe in Jesus, He calls us sons of the kingdom of God, and the tares are sons of the evil one, Satan, and his world system which is his kingdom for a time. And the servants ask the Master, what shall we do? Uproot the tares? And He says, no, that would damage the young wheat. Wait until the harvest, and then we sort the wheat and the tares out (they will become evident by their fruit - what they look like, act like, etc) - the wheat to be gathered into the harvest, and the tares to be burned.
For us, this means that even though we look around and see that there are those who won't believe in Jesus, we aren't to worry about that. God will sort us all out at the Last Judgement. What we are supposed to be doing is working for the kingdom during our lifetime here on this earth, telling people the good news of Jesus, and growing and learning in what it means to be sons and daughters of the kingdom of God. As we do that, this is what happens, "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (v.43). Daniel talks about this as well. In Daniel, chapter 11, v. 32, he writes, "and by smooth words he (the anti-Christ) will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant (of God), but the people who know their God will display strength and take action." And in chapter 12, v. 3, "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of heaven, and those who lead many to righteousness like the stars forever." Yes, we get to receive treasure from God when we believe in Jesus; but it's a treasure we are supposed to share. And as we are about the kingdom work of our God, and as we grow in what it means to belong to His family, we shine brighter and brighter, for Him. Even as the world becomes darker, we shine brighter. This is part of our testimony, and it helps people see the choice that lies before them. At the end of Matthew, chapter 13, vv. 51-52, Jesus says this to His disciples, "Have you understood all these things?" They said, "Yes." Then He said, "Therefore every scribe (those who keep records, notes, teachings, so they are not lost forever) who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of the household, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old." We have a treasure to cherish and rejoice over, gleefully clasping Him, the Lord Jesus, to our chests, as we share about Him with everyone we meet. We should also read, study, remember all He taught, and following in His ways with courage and strength, faithfulness, light up the path to Him for all the world to see. This is our task today.
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Franci Ballwatching and working for the kingdom of God in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham - UK Archives
January 2019
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