Daily Bread

‘Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord”, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?” Then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.”

‘Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!’

Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

Growing up, I was so inculturated by a particular brand of Christianity that I thought that 'entering the kingdom of heaven' meant 'going to heaven when we die' and, to my frustration, I still find myself unconsciously projecting this view onto the text. So what is the Kingdom of Heaven?

The Kingdom of Heaven is a place that overlaps earth and heaven and also a way of life where God's subjects live in alignment with God's will and purpose. One day it will fully encompass both heaven and earth and God's rule or 'kingship' will be fully established. But... it's not fully established yet. We have a choice to enter or not enter into this place and way of life.

We are justified though our faith in Jesus Christ, but in what way can we say we are members of God's kingdom if we continue to go around hating on people, living selfishly, and hurting others or the world around us? We need to trust in Christ and be subject to the rule of Christ. There is a reason why the first Christians called their religion 'The Way'.

In this Bible passage, Jesus is saying it's not enough to simply 'bandy around' or 'use' God's name. We need to hear his words and put them into action, we need to live out our faith, we need to allow God's will and purpose to rule in our hearts, and we need to allow the Holy Spirit to pour into our hearts God's gift of love.

The idea is that, on 'that day' when heaven and earth fully overlap, when God's kingdom is fully established and God's rule of love will be in all creation, we will fit right in.

Holy God
I want to be a Christian
not just with my words
but with my whole life.
So fill me with your love
that I am one with you
and you are one with me,
and may your kingdom come
on earth as in heaven.
Now and forever.