'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
The kingdom is at hand wherever Jesus himself is present since he himself is the king. He is the seed yields one hundred fold, the yeast that leavens the dough, the pearl of great price, and the treasure in the field. He is the net which catches fish of every kind, the neighbor that never fails to lend us what we need, even at midnight, the just judge and merciful judge who desires to decide our case in our favor.
He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son (see Colossians 1:13).
This kingdom is also the kingdom of light, light which the darkness cannot comprehend or overcome. It is in this kingdom alone that victory over the darkness is possible, because Jesus himself has conquered (see John 16:33) and shares that victory with us (see Revelation 3:21).
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
These external manifestations of kingdom power are signs of the victorious presence of the king. They demonstrate that he is triumphant over even these external manifestations of the darkness. Yet even if we do not always see such signs, the inner victory over the darkness in the life of believers, over sin, and therefore over fear and death, is something that is always available. It is a gift which does not typically take hold all at once, but is rather something in which we must grow. We have the victory in Christ. But we must learn to walk in it. We have been brought into his kingdom. But we must still allow the principles and the resources of the kingdom to shape us. The world in which we live still tries to compete for our attention. This, perhaps, is why Jesus asked his disciples to try an experiment in a more extreme form of trust in him.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
Does Jesus sometimes ask us to do without some elements of comfort which we are reluctant to relinquish? Most probably he does. But not simply for the sake of upsetting us or provoking us does he ask this. Rather it is so that we can be drawn more closely to him, and that, then, our proclamation of the kingdom might more completely manifest his presence to others.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
The peace we are called to wish others is meant to be first within ourselves. Peace is one of the gifts of the kingdom Jesus wishes to give, a consequence of the fact that, even amidst the trials of the world we already share in the victory won by Jesus himself.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (see John 14:27).
The world longs for this peace. We are supposed to women and men to whom it can turn to find it. But are we? The victory of Jesus is available to us. The strong walls of the kingdom surround us. But do we live as though this were true? Has our faith really taken hold of our lives? If not, let us pray for a deeper revelation of what the victory of Jesus is meant to mean for us. Let us pray to learn to truly live as citizens of his kingdom, pilgrims on the earth.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (see Philippians 3:20).
Despite living before Jesus inaugurated the Kingdom of heaven in fullness Joseph still demonstrated and ability to trust in the deeper unseen reality of God's plan in spite of worldly appearances that seemed contrary to that plan.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.
If we realize the fullness of the reality of the kingdom we will also come to experience more and more the truth that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (see Romans 8:28)
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