The Individual and the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is within you. Here are two verses that sum up the individual and his or her relationship with the Kingdom, actually with the King. That is how the individual relates, for the Kingdom does not come with observation. Ultimately, with respect to having faith and relating to the King, it does not matter if no one ever knows of the individual's salvation and their inner relationship with God. Sharing that faith is important for obeying the King's great commission, helping others, and keeping the individual unselfish and recognizing their place in the world as nothing. Otherwise, the believer can become a spoiled brat.

But what of other matters? Politics, economics, etc.

Internal

Back to the individual - what is the kingdom within you? Righteousness, joy and peace in the Holy Spirit. Are you letting God work His kingdom within you, or are you constantly focused upon the external, the facade, the things without that you care about advancing for God?

Timing

Daniel 7 speaks of one like the Son of Man coming to the ancient of days, clearly in the throne room of heaven. This event occurs with a call for all nations to worship Him and the destruction of the beast. Clearly, this refers to the Ascension of Christ, the Son of Man, who conquered the dragon of old on the cross. But many Christians think victory is still far away at the 2nd coming of Christ.

More on the Heart of the individual subject of the King

Ezekiel and Isaiah say that Satan's sin began in the heart - it was lifted up. Jesus said that if you lust in the heart, you've already committed adultery. The individual subject must guard, clean, and purify the heart. How do you do that? The grace of God, the word of God - only by these may one purify the heart to be a subject of this King. The tenth commandment - thou shalt not covet - deals with the heart. Paul says he learned about lust being a sin from the tenth commandment. The law reveals, but it does not purify. God alone by His power and grace can do that work. If we submit to this King, we'll allow Him to do that work.

The Heart

I grew up around men who said things like, "Just press on," or "Don't worry about it." Such comments were to make sure duties were done and to avoid a maudlin obsession with feelings. But, what if it causes an avoidance of the heart, what it cares about, whether it cares. Jesus said the fist commandment is to love God, not just with our strength and actions, but with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Do we know our own heart? How much resentment and mistrust to we hold toward the God who loves us enough to send His Son for us? What's the difference between my heart or soul and my flesh?

The kingdom requires there to be individuals with hearts and souls committed to the King. Where are we with that? How do we develop the proper heart of loyalty and devotion?

The Transition Period

From the Hebrew period recorded in the Hebrew bible to the New Testament is a vast transformation that we know little about, partly because of our distance in time from that period and partly out of ignorance of the bible itself. We put off to the future so much prophecy that we, like the bible students of Jesus' time, remain ignorant of just how much was being fulfilled then. It was THE END of an era, an era of great significance, but a temporary era. Both Jesus and John the Baptist went about proclaiming that the kingdom of God was at hand. What did that mean?

Technology

Christians too often downplay the physical world - wrongly. It's done out of a sincere desire to not under emphasize the spiritual. But here's the question. Does God's kingdom include technology? Do you want to live in George Washington's day, before dentists, when everyone lost their teeth? Dentists have advanced the world's health and comfort in a way unconceivable to those living just two hundred years ago.

I've thought about this lately because of knee surgery I had two weeks ago. Two weeks ago I faced recurring bouts with knee problems that prevented me from walking. I had to hobble or use crutches on and off. 100 years ago, I would have to live with it. 20 years ago, I would have faced major surgery, with my knee completely opened up.

The surgery I had took less than an hour, and it required three small holes. I was walking the next day. My doctor, a Christian, prayed for the success of the surgery beforehand, and I am thankful for that. But I told him at the follow-up appointment that I must be thankful for the day I live in. We are too quick to look for the bad of our day and not see the good.

So, back to my question. Does God's kingdom include technology? Has God blessed the Christian world to have more faith, more initiative, more success in that area as a way to advance the kingdom, as a way to, in a sense, reverse the curse. Doesn't that enable us to better carry out the Great Commission? Advances in technology in travel, in communication, in helping others. Does that not advance God's kingdom?