The Kingdom Has Come – Will You Join Me in Helping People See It

Over the summer this year I plan to host another blog series that I want to invite you to participate in.  The series is called The Kingdom is Here – Where Do You See It?

Sunday is Pentecost and we are about to enter the season of the church year known as ordinary time.  Many of us prefer to call it kingdom time because this is the time when we are meant to be out in the world doing God’s kingdom work.  Jesus did not just announce the kingdom of God, he also demonstrated it by healing the sick, feeding the hungry and setting the oppressed free.  And he told his disciples “Go and do likewise.”  They were challenged not just to talk about the kingdom but also to demonstrate it by doing the same things that Jesus did – healing the sick, feeding the hungry and setting the oppressed free.

We live in a world that does not seem to offer much hope at the moment. The continued volatility of our global economy, the environmental disasters that seem to follow each other in rapid succession, the growing pressures on our poorest neighbours can easily discourage us and drain our hope and confidence in what God is doing.

We believe however that in the risen Christ God’s new world has indeed broken into ours and continues to do so – often in small insignificant mustard seeds.  What I hope is that over the summer we can highlight some of the glimpses we catch of where God’s new world of wholeness, justice abundance and joy is breaking into our world today and help others to see, get excited and want to join in what God is doing.  What are practical, tangible seeds of hope that reflect God’s in breaking presence in our world?

Sometimes the results are spectacular like the community garden movement I blogged about a couple of weeks ago.  What began as numerous small disconnected mustard seeds has gained momentum to become a huge movement of God’s spirit.

Other indications of God’s kingdom breaking into our world may never become spectacular movements but they make us aware that God always works through the small and the insignificant to change the world – like the work of a woman I spoke to this last week who is developing a safe house for women on the streets or even the loving attention of a parent towards their children.  God is at work in our broken world and we need to help people see, hear and get enthusiastic about it.

So where are the seeds of hope for you?  Where do you see the kingdom of God breaking into our world and how can you encourage others to get involved?  I hope that you will join me in this blog series so that others can see and get excited about joining the work that God has already begun.

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