God's Too Heavy To Carry Around

I heard Jesus belt out a sermon yesterday.

(This is a different Jesus than the one I gave coffee to a few weeks ago. Jesus seems to be everywhere these days...)

So I’m out giving coffee, and I run into this guy who thanks me and tells me that God’s going to bless me. I’m running late for writer’s group, so I start to turn away.

He stops me.

A profound peace is etched all over this guy’s weathered face. He starts to tell me about how much God has blessed him. We go back and forth about God’s caring nature and our fallen state and I begin to notice something.

Others around him are listening.

They are not listening to the Rev. Joseph Boronat. They are listening to a day laborer named Jesus who praises God whether or not he finds a job on a given day. They listen to him sharing about the need to stay on the right path that God has marked out for us. They gather in when he shares how he experiences joy and fulfillment without money, sex, or alcohol.

The Bible records Jesus of Nazareth stating “The Kingdom of God is already among you.”

How can this be? There is so much anger and disconnection in our world. People have wholeheartedly decided to turn from God and others in the pursuit of their own pleasure. Horrible things happen to people of peace, while the rich seem to get richer and richer.

Maybe there is more to this Kingdom than meets the eye. Maybe this Kingdom grows even now; not by bullets and oppression, but by love and sacrifice.

As I spoke with this day laborer, I was reminded that the LORD is always at work, growing His Kingdom.

And I realized that Christians show unspeakable pride and ignorance when we believe that we can carry God to people. He is already at work in the lives of all.

As a believer in Jesus, I am called to be a witness to what He has done, as well as what He continues to do in my life.

Let us keep our eyes open to see where He wishes for us to join in with Him.


Questions to Ponder

What evidence of the Kingdom of God have I experienced this past week? What opportunities to expand it did I join in with? Where did I fail? What is the next thing god wants me to do?


Related Verses

Luke 17:20-21
One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

John 18:33-38
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him.”

2nd Kings 6:8-23
When the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he would confer with his officers and say, “We will mobilize our forces at such and such a place.”
But immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” So the king of Israel would send word to the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he would be on the alert there.
The king of Aram became very upset over this. He called his officers together and demanded, “Which of you is the traitor? Who has been informing the king of Israel of my plans?”
“It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!”
“Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”
And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.
When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.
“Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please make them blind.” So the LORD struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked.
Then Elisha went out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to the city of Samaria.
As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O LORD, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the LORD opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria.
When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?”
“Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.”
So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.