Kingdom thoughts

Kingdom of God (Kingdom of Heaven)

I've been meditating on that phrase recently. It's another of those combination of words in the scripture that I think I blaze past without really absorbing the full meaning. So I've been taking time to try to delve into what is intended.

In the first place, having grown up in the U.S. -- I don't have an experiential understanding of kings and kingdoms. My thoughts and attitudes are permeated with freedom and individual liberties and inalienable rights of determination. Perhaps there is a little bit of that "master of my fate, captain of my soul" thrown in there -- although that's English, not American. Historically, we as a people resist being "subjects" to the king.

Because of my distinctly independent mindset, I don't readily understand sovereignty or absolute authority, as vested in a person. I was taught as a child that no one person -- not presidents, not popes, no man -- was infallible. I was taught instead to respect law (civil and scriptural.)

As a result, understanding God as king and understanding the kingdom of God is uphill.

Not long ago I meditated through Matthew and now I am meditating through Mark. Kingdom is such an important concept in those writings. Jesus tells his followers that the kingdom of God is near.

Growing up, I was taught that he meant that the church would soon be established -- Okay, maybe so, but is there more to it than that?

One big-picture teaching is that the 'kingdom of God' is where God is the supreme authority, where He rules, where He is acknowleged as King. It is a spiritual kingdom that is unrelated to any geographic location or any spot in time. It includes the church but is not limited to the church.

And so when God enters our world as Jesus, He brings his authority, his power, his kingdom near to us.

In fact, throughout the gospels, various people comment with amazement about the authority they see in the teaching of Jesus, in his miracles, in his power over demons. Authority is an inescapable aspect of Emmanuel, God with us.

And God's position as King, His absolute authority and power -- is unchanged by humans' failure to acknowledge the King and the Kingdom. All of creation recognizes Him, even if we don't. If we didn't shout hosanna, the rocks would have.

We are invited to become citizens of the king. We are invited to voluntarily ally ourselves with the one who will be victorious over all other kingdoms. He will welcome us if we subject ourselves to his rule.

Subject ourselves. Ah, there's the part that is unnatural for me. My rights, my exalted value as a person is so ingrained in my American thinking. Kings and kingdoms are so unfamiliar to me.