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The Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God By Wayne Franklin April 16, 1998I was doing a little Bible reading the other night. In fact, I was preparing for my upcoming Sunday school class. I was looking up Biblical references to 'joy'. One of these references was Romans 14:17 and another was Galatians 5:22. The former is a description of the kingdom of God, while the latter is a list of the fruits of the Spirit. These passages really hit home for me when I read them this time. I believe the Holy Spirit was/is talking to me. Here's what I hear Him saying to me: we can live in His kingdom NOW! The rewards of heaven are available to us now, here on earth. They are, of course, only shadowy reflections of the glorious nature of heaven, but they are nevertheless real. And compared to the normal, dreary earthly life, they are indeed magnificent! Mind if we explore this further? The passage in Romans says, "...the kingdom of God is...righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." And Galatians says, "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." As God's adopted children, we are all afforded the opportunity to receive these wonderful fruits, and of course we're invited to live in His kingdom, even the kingdom that is here and now. Would you like to have a warm feeling of peace surrounding you at all times? Then ask our Father for it. But here's what He'll say to you: "Live in Me and I'll live in you." Or put another way: "Love your God with all your heart, mind, body, and soul." Or: "Obey." You see, these are all saying the same thing. To abide in the Father is to hear His words for us. To love our Father is to receive these words and act upon them. And acting upon His will is nothing more than obedience. So, do you want to feel the joy of the Lord? Would you like to experience a joy which dwarfs "happiness"? Then obey our Father. It really is that simple. But obey Him out of gratitude. He sacrificed His only Son for our sake. How many of you would sacrifice your only child for the sake of another? How can we feel anything other than overwhelming gratitude for this act of love? If you truly feel thankful for this gift (not to mention all the daily gifts He gives us), then thank Him properly by obeying His will. This is all He asks. Modified: April 20, 1998 View Comments | Add Comment
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