The Kingdom of Heaven is more than meets the eye: The Kingdom of Heaven has come near you, it is here, it is within you, and the Kingdom of Heaven is coming.
I was struck by an idea presented in a recent church service: The Kingdom of Heaven is more than meets the eye: The Kingdom of Heaven has come near you, it is here, it is within you, and the Kingdom of Heaven is coming. We tend to think the Kingdom of Heaven as something in the future that we’re all waiting for, and that’s partly true, but it also carries other profound dimensions.
The phrases Kingdom of Heaven and Kingdom of God refer to the same thing. Jesus used both phrases one right after the other in Matthew 19:23-24, explaining to His disciples how difficult it was for people to enter the Kingdom of God/Heaven.
The End is Near
When Jesus sent out the disciples ahead of Him to the places He would soon visit, he told them, “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’” (Luke 10:8-9)
Jesus had been teaching His disciples about the kingdom of Heaven and now the disciples were preparing the people to hear about it, as well.
You and I are those people and God has sent out his disciples to reach us. Will we welcome his servants? Or, will we reject them and have it said against us,
Say, ‘Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. –Luke 10:10-11
I really enjoy this song so I added two verses which I’ve inserted as Verse 2 and 3. You can find the chords at Ultimate-Guitar.com [Note: Linked original version, not mine, as it’s not approved yet. Will fix link when approved. Link now works.]. Here’s a plain-text version for now.
I’m not a frequent patron of clubs but apparently there’s a popular song making the rounds lately…
Titanium’s a great song, catchy, fantastic vocals, uplifting and inspiring, but I have a complaint: it’s wrong. It’s wrong in its statement and it’s wrong in its message.
While the former is a big club anthem hit, the latter is a small, eccentric, awkward, left field entry from a decidedly unmainstream and unhip Christian rock band – but Supafly gets it so right.
A few years ago, at one of our company’s Christmas parties, I was talking with two very pretty young ladies, who were the clubbing type, about their boyfriend woes and being unable to find a good man. I don’t know how wise I was then but I asked them a question, “Where do you find guys?” Clubs, was the answer, and I replied, “Well there’s your problem, what kind of guys are you expecting to find there?” There’s a lot of action at clubs and they’re going to attract most the type that are attracted to action for action’s sake. Somehow the conversation settled on recommendations from friends but, really, what I had in mind the whole time was this: the context of where you are defines the kind of people you’re going to meet.
I believed, and I still do, that the Christian has the foundation to truly love another person because they see them for who they really are – a soul, a spirit, God’s very own creation, His son or daughter.
But back to the songs in question. Listen to the lyrics of each. Titanium speaks of inner strength. Actually, more like an inner hardness – an unwillingness to admit personal hurt even if that’s what it actually is. Supafly, on the other hand, delves into the thoughts and actions of “dogs and cats” and, in what I consider its crowning and inspired insight, exposes the pretense,
You think ya somethin’ more ya so supafly,
To the fact you’re blind, you’re soft inside,
It’s hard for me to get this through to you,
To the fact ya blind, baby, blind, baby
To the fact you’re blind, you’re soft inside – that’s it. That’s it.
We like to think we’re strong. We like to think we’re invulnerable to the criticisms of others. We like to think a lot of things that aren’t true.
The truth is we’re weak. The truth is we’re broken and easily hurt. The truth is we try to hide the truth.
Supafly’s lyrics contain a reference to Psalms 34 that talks about our condition,
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. My soul will boast in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice. Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
Psalms 34:1-7, 15-20
We know that refuge is not found within ourselves. We might not know yet where help is, but God, who created Heaven and Earth, and knit you together in the womb, He’s calling to you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21)
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
It’s been a week since mom left us. In a blur of hurry we made arrangements for visitation, reception and funeral. Two visitations on Sunday went by quicker than I thought they would. Monday’s service took a long time to approach but the day passed on in a rush. It is now a few days after the funeral. I’ll be going back to work Monday. My brother and sister have begun heading back into their lives. Dad will begin the time when it feels like there should be someone standing beside you, but you reach out and there is only empty air. I miss you mom.
It’s been a week since mom left us. In a blur of hurry we made arrangements for visitation, reception and funeral. Two visitations on Sunday went by quicker than I thought they would. Monday’s service took a long time to approach but the day passed on in a rush. It is now a few days after the funeral. I’ll be going back to work Monday. My brother and sister have begun heading back into their lives. Dad will begin the time when it feels like there should be someone standing beside you, but you reach out and there is only empty air. I miss you mom.
I don’t know how death and being lifted up to heaven works but I bet it probably works like sleeping. It doesn’t feel like any time has past. Mom will think she hasn’t lost any time at all and she’ll open her eyes and she’ll be greeted by the splendourous unknown.
Thus, our mourning is turned into morning for mom. And from that we who remain have reason to hold onto hope.
Early this morning I received a call from my dad telling me mom had passed away. My mom was an amazing person, an incredible Christian and an inspiration to so many people she touched over her lifetime.
Early this morning I received a call from my dad telling me mom had passed away. My mom was an amazing person, an incredible Christian and an inspiration to so many people she touched over the years.
The only thing I’ll say for now is thank you mom and thank you Lord that you blessed me with such a great mother.
My brother wrote a blog about mom that says a lot of what I would say if I had written something like that. It’s too small to really tell you about my mom but it does highlight a lot of exceptional qualities in her.
I am happy for my mother. Her pain is gone and I can imagine her in heaven with Jesus singing and playing praises with a dozen instruments she always wanted to play and playing them perfectly.
And probably watching us from heaven as we mourn her passing but recognizing we also feel joy because our loss is her gain now that she is with Jesus.
