Yesterday, I had the above phrase in my mind. I felt the Lord tell me to look up the scriptures that say … the kingdom of God is LIKE … … The first thought I had about this subject is that wherever God’s kingdom is present it means He is in charge. So …who rules my life? When we accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord, that means His processes begin, we begin to learn His Ways.
The seed of the life of God within us germinates and inside that seed is the potential for a fully mature tree of righteousness ‘… that He might be glorified.’ However the growth or unveiling of that seed is a progressive thing. Something we should always seek – first. Maybe we could pray like this: Dear Holy Spirit, Reveal God’s kingdom to me, and for me, as well as through me, today please Lord, Amen.
I noticed that Jesus often described or illustrated His Father’s kingdom by telling His listeners parables, stories. I mentioned one yesterday from Matthew 20. It seems to me that prayerful, meditative reading is one key to unlock the revelation of how His kingdom can rule and reign in each of our lives. Mainly because “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” So “God’s kingdom is not a physical place – but a spiritual reality and a way of living.” (Thank you Google!)
Here’s a brief synopsis of what the kingdom of God is like in the stories Jesus told. The kingdom is like a farmer sowing a seed; a man hunting treasure; a woman kneading dough; a fisherman casting a net; a man forgiven a debt; a wedding guest evicted from a wedding because he forgot his jacket. Or unmarried, pure young women waiting to greet the bridegroom; or a landowner being generous.
Each one of those individual parables provides us with a story and within that story is a revelation – an unveiling – of a much bigger truth. We can let our pastor do all the work, or we can pursue God and His Ways for ourselves. The word ‘find,’ is sometimes used, as well as ‘hidden.’ We see His kingdom through our spiritual eyes using our faith, and we go on reading to find something to obey. The kingdom of God gives us a new way of thinking which leads us into a new way of living.
“Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain.”Mark 4:26-33.
I think the Lord used the illustration of something hidden and ordinary because that intimates there will be a revealing of something unexpected, so a revelation is necessary. When God gives us a revelation those new thoughts rise up from our hearts, into our heads and we begin to think and act differently. What He says becomes our reference point, taking preference over what we think, or whatever we think we already know. One day we are reading away, and suddenly the thing we’ve stared at for ages, not only makes sense – it jumps off the page at us.
Because this is His Grace in action we have nothing to contribute to this process of growth, just our willing obedience, and love for Jesus Himself. Often this stuff happens when we are not even looking! In His kingdom a single seed produces more seeds. So the kingdom of God is like the potential to change, digested and applied. Bye. 👋.
