Love: The “Oxygen” For Life in God’s Kingdom
I woke up to watch a crowd of dancing compatriots - on my phone. The music was scintillating, and everyone felt great - agog in the rhythm of one step forward, two steps backward, and body-shaking from head and shoulder to bottom. The vibes were good and contagious: I involuntarily responded to the beats, head-shaking and body- moving.
I later left home and went to church on a Sunday morning. I was in church to join worshippers who in spirit, were “transmuted” out of this world singing and praising the Lord. I could not wait to join them in praise and worship. It was glorious.
Two glimpses of God’s Kingdom, I would say.
After service, I went back home to learn about the horror of war in Gaza and Ukraine - watching on the TV how terror and destruction were unleashed by one nation of humans on another. I was bemused by stories of teens and young adults in their early twenties being charged with murder and telling gory details of their dastardly acts.
What is happening in the world?
We see contrasting pictures - celebrating the birth of a new baby and mourning schoolchildren who were mauled down by adult bullets - stories of sin and suffering. We shed tears of sorrow in the night but look forward to light in the morning. We are in the middle of experiencing the interval between Christ’s First coming and His return to establish His rule on earth.
The Kindom of Men
Human Governments since the Fall have wrestled with the challenges of managing SIN at micro and macro levels. Church and Government have sought to address sin at their levels. At the church micro level, the individual is taught to live right by keeping rules rolled out by religious leaders: “Do this, do that; don’t do this, don’t do that.” The standard is set, and the individual is judged by his/her compliance with rules and regulations. Individually, we judge other Christians by our standards - using our cultural benchmarks. Yet we’ve not changed one person.
The tuth is we need to change for the better.
Governments at the national and supranational levels seek to put pressure on citizens and nations to keep the peace. They legislate - enacting national and international laws under the supervision of a world body to no avail. Nations are still rising against nations, and life on planet Earth is threatened by unbridled stockpiling of nuclear weapons. The human rebellious spirit has continued to resist all attempts at nudging them to toe the line of peace.
But as believers in Christ, we put our hope in God’s word.
Prophet Micah foresaw a future when the people will “beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Micah 4:3). “Tools meant to kill and maim would be transformed into tools to nurture life,” writes Winn Collier of ODB.
That brings us back to Jesus, and the rule in His kingdom.
Jesus came to validate God’s kingdom. He is the king who reigns over His people. As king, He puts out new rules of engagement - which are not new but have the effect of setting aside unnecessary human traditions imposed by religious leaders. He taught and made “Love" the theme and focus of his message. Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and “Love your neighbors as yourself” (Matthew 22: 37-39).
This is the essence of the “new wine”, the “oxygen” for healthy kingdom living. Jesus backed up his message of love for all people with miracles - rescuing and restoring the sick, outcasts, and the lost in people’s eyes. He never condemned sinners who were brought to him by the scribes and pharisees - religious leaders of his day, out to showcase their “holier-than-thou” mindset.
Rather, Jesus said to the sinner, “Go and sin no more.”
Matthew 5: 43-46 also has this:
“You have heard people say, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemies,” I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Then you will be acting like your Father in heaven. He makes the sun rise on both good and bad people.”
Jesus says in other words, that a hater of fellow humans has no place in His kingdom - or put mildly, one who does not love is never going to be comfortable in His kingdom. He goes on to illustrate with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 30-35).
Let’s reflect briefly on Jesus’ teaching and the practical reality of loving God with “ALL your heart, soul, strength, and mind.” For Jesus, loving God means holding nothing back. Nothing! God’s claim on the people of the kingdom is absolute. Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” In the kingdom of heaven, the will of God is done absolutely. God does not share His glory - not in heaven nor on earth.
The good news of the kingdom is that Jesus came to call all sinners, including the marginalized and “down and out” - not the self-righteous. The gate of the kingdom is open to all.
Love In Action: The Benchmark For Kingdom Living
The book of Romans 12: 9-20 and II Corinthians 13 both give us the meaning and ramifications of living in love. The passages are worthy of our attention, meditation, and prayers. I encourage the reader to take another look at the texts.
Meanwhile, let’s ponder this: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him, if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” (Romans 12: 20).
That is a powerful figure of speech. Think of what it would feel to have burning coals of fire heaped on you. Sure it will instantly trigger an uncomfortable reaction to shake them off. One translation of Proverbs 25: 22 says “You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads and the LORD will reward you.” “It will cause the enemy to feel remorse ” were the words of a commentator.
This is the kingdom’s way of fighting back in love. It is God’s template to win over the enemy.
Love in action.
Loving God with all our hearts means our heart’s commitment to obeying His word above and beyond our wishes and desires to please the world.
We all know how we prioritize our desires above God’s word and cover up our disobedience with exterior moralizing. We know it - preferring the praise of men to God’s reward now and in the age to come.
The case for us is to begin to live this truth of God’s word now . It’s hard, right? Yes, but we can , as we pray and encourage one and another.
What do you think?
