Romans
14:17-18
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but
of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone
who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human
approval.
1
Corinthians 6:9
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of
God?
1
Corinthians 15:24
Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the
Father.
THE
KINGDOM
The
four synoptic gospels have frequent references to the Kingdom.
However, the scriptures quoted above are some of the only references
to it in Paul's letters. Why
is it that Paul says little about the Kingdom while the gospels are
eager to tell us about it?
N.T. Wright explains that in the Apostle's view, Christ had already
introduced “the Kingdom of the Messiah. What remained to come was
the Kingdom of God. Paul's audience was eager to hear about the real
Lord of the world.
The Kingdom of God had been part of the explanation of what Jesus had
already
accomplished through his death and resurrection which now had to be
implemented.”
But
are we (were they) so generous that we (they) could look around and
say “See that's an example of what the Kingdom is like”?
Maybe not always. What the professor implies is that we need to
imitate Jesus' values in the world to be able to glimpse the essence
of the Kingdom of God on earth. And through those glimpses, we may
be able to think of the Kingdom that lies beyond us. Paul's future
vision is one of selflessness that promotes generosity unconcerned
with competition or status. But, why
were his examples so few?
Maybe the same reason that we see so few.
Why did the gospel writers list so many?
Maybe because Christ saw so many ways that we can do more for each
other.
Father
God, help us to imitate the behavior of your son. We pray that we
may come closer to your Kingdom. Amen.
Ross
Stuntz
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