The Kingdom of Heaven
December 15, 2013 | Patrick Preheim

The heavenly Kingdom is like a sower of seeds (Matt 13.24)

a mustard seed (Matt 13.31)
yeast (Matt 13.33)
a hidden treasure (Matt 13.44)
a merchant searching for pearls (Matt 13.45)
a net full of fish (Matt 13.47)
a business owner providing the daily wage (Matt 20.1ff)

We are pearls of great price which the Kingdom finds;

birds who are sheltered in a branch of the Kingdom;
fields that are sown with good Kingdome seed;
fish which find themselves caught up in the Kingdom net;
those longing to be employed in the Kingdom’s vineyard.

We experience the Kingdom when we put on a spirit of humility (Matt 5.3), pursue righteousness (Matt 5.10), welcome the children (Matt 18.1-5), feed the hungry / give drink to the thirsty / clothe the naked / tend the sick/ visit the imprisoned (Matt 25.34-40). This is Kingdom living, and it can happen every single day. And it needs to happen every single day.

For we know there are still pearls to be recovered;

weary birds in search of rest;
hungry in need of food;
sick who crave a visit;
people seeking tasks of a deeper life.
Sometimes Kingdom workers minister to us and sometimes we minister to others on behalf of the Kingdom. Either way, it is clear that the Kingdom has not yet been fully realized.

So we pray that the Kingdom might one day come on earth as it is in heaven. And in speaking that prayer we become open to the Kingdom of the incarnate God which is among us (Luke 17.21), within us (Luke 17.21 alternate and equally accurate translation of Greek preposition), awaiting us.

Celebration of the Christ’s birth is a celebration of God’s Kingdom becoming incarnate. Immanuel—God with us—has come, is here, and will come again. God grant us alert eyes, open hearts, and courageous decision making to embrace the kingdom of heaven when it breaks upon us; this year and every year. Amen.