Kingdom of Heaven

I am reminded time and time again that God's kingdom; His economy work often contrary to the rules, practices, and economy of this world. Being finite beings, living in this world, we often revert to the ways of our culture and wordly understanding. As followers of Jesus Christ, with good intentions, we still forget where we belong as citizens of the kingdom. It was not too long ago that I fell into the category of believers thinking, mistakenly, that it was part of my role as a kindom citizen to assist in ushering in the rule and reign of God's heavenly kingdom. It sounds good, right? However as I have been challenged in this area, I do not mind if you are not here yet or if you can agree with me at this time, I have come to believe that the kingdom of heaven is. at. hand. as Christ told us in the gospels. The kingdom has already been ushered in. There is nothing we can do to usher it or prevent it from its arrival for it is already here. As believers in Jesus Christ, we have transfered our citizenship into a kingdom that already exists and has been ushered in with the arrival of the Son. Does this get us off the hook? Absolutely not! As citizens of the kingdom, we are called to be ambassadors for the kingdom, inviting people into relationship and inviting them into this kingdom that is here. Nuts and bolts: We are not called to change our worlds cultures and create a "heaven on earth." We are not called to criticize culture or people. We ARE called into loving people as Christ loved us; sacrificially. We offer ourselves as holy and living sacrifices; ambassadors of Jesus Christ and His kingdom. We already live in His kingdom and we are simply pointing the way into that kingdom through Christ our Lord. All honor and glory is yours, now and forever. Amen. Mark