A Kingdom Like No Other

“This isn’t Mister Roger’s Neighborhood.”

I frowned. I’d been watching a promotional video for a church and heard those words which left a sour taste in my mouth.

He’s right, this isn’t Mister Roger’s neighborhood, I thought, but does that mean we roll around in the muck of this world? That we give in and give up?

I believe I know what the pastor was trying to say. That their community of faith grapples with “real life” in all its pain-filled iterations…

And yet, to slam Mister Roger’s Neighborhood seemed like a cheap shot.

I, as well as countless others, grew up watching the mild-mannered gentleman whose life’s work revolved around helping children to come to grips that they were special and loved.

Mister Rogers never downplayed reality. He often used the “Neighborhood of Make-Believe” as a sort of test lab where he could teach kids through stories about “real life”.

Things like anger, pain, loneliness and fear.

About how things don’t always turn out like we expect them to.

That sometimes people’s feelings get hurt and all we can see is one big mess.

I was not surprised to learn that Fred Rogers was an ordained minister. That he used his television show to touch the lives of children with wonderfully good news;

“You are loved.”

So many people do not live with this knowledge. So many people live unaware of God’s unrestrained love for them.

Jesus prayed “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”

We often speak of God answering prayers, but how can we live in such a way that He uses US to answer this prayer?

A Kingdom Like No Other
A kingdom where the poor are rich and the lonely find family. Where justice and mercy slow dance. Where hearts, souls, and minds are opened and wisdom expands. Where we pour love on Jesus' tired, dirty, beautiful, aching feet whenever we serve another person. A kingdom where we receive our name and engage our calling. Where shattered lives and fragmented dreams find the hope that leads to restoration. We have caught a glimpse of this kingdom and we have found it captivating. We as the church have been called to get this kingdom started on earth as it is in heaven. The keys to this kingdom are in our hands. When are we going to unlock these gates? Who will help push the boundaries of this kingdom until it swallows up all that causes disconnection and suffering? As this River bursts forth we will flood our community with the tangible presence of Jesus Christ.

Joe


Related Verses
Colossians 1:3-14
We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News.

This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.

You learned about the Good News from Epaphras, our beloved co-worker. He is Christ’s faithful servant, and he is helping us on your behalf. He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.

So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Galatians 5:16-26
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

NLTse