Kingdom

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever."

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

Kingdom. What is a kingdom? When the Messiah was foretold in the Bible, the Jews expected a political Messiah. They believed that a Messiah was going to come to overthrow Caesar so that they would be in part of His kingdom. They would be free from all worries because their good king would look after them, but Jesus didn't come to overthrow Caesar. However, God had an even better plan.

It took me a really long time to understand what Jesus meant by "kingdom." I'm still learning as he gives me little glimpses the more I learn about him. I always thought God's kingdom was symbolic and only symbolic, but it isn't. Jesus wants to establish His kingdom here on earth. After realizing that, things started clicking. God's kingdom is a kingdom full of love, full of selfless people, full of people who love God. It's beautiful. It's like an utopia, except it's forreal. How do those verses and the Lord's Prayer have to do anything about the Kingdom? Let's start with Matthew 6:33. I love this verse! This was my key verse a few years ago and I still hold onto it today. For these past few years, my understanding of the verse was -- if I seek God first, he will provide everything I need. Now I see that Jesus really wants to me seek his kingdom. To me, it just meant putting God before everything, but there's something more deeper than that. To pursue God's kingdom is to love the people around me and to love them well. That's God's kingdom, a kingdom full of love. When Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, he taught them to pray for God's Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven. I believe that's the society and community of love among all believers. The last verse - Ephesians 2:10 - is my key verse for this year. In my New Year's key verse testimony, I said I wasn't quite sure why I chose this verse, but that I knew I had to. Throughout this year, God's been revealing to me what I am to do. I am to love others. That's what we were created to do.

This was a really concise paragraph about God's Kingdom. I might add on to it when I learn more.

I am sooo thankful for the people God has placed in my life who look after me so well. I am so thankful for my mom who cooks such delicious food every night! Ahh, I realized that I am never left hungry. In fact I always have food at home and not just any food, but good food. I'm so thankful for this community of people God has placed in my life!

It seems like I've been talking a lot lately. I really hope that I will really do what I write about -- encourage, love, etc. If I told you about it but I didn't do anything, my words would have no meaning to it. It would be tenuous (if I used this word correctly). As I learn to love, I encourage you guys to love as well!

Random life lesson: The more you give, the more you receieve.