Kingdom of God & the Leggetts
I have noticed something beautiful about my family, particularly in regards to my children. They are being raised in a drastically different "kingdom" than the one I was raised in. It is a kingdom where love is expressed day in and day out through numerous hugs and kisses, an incredible home school experience, and various celebrations of their uniqueness in photos and letters. That is not to say that they are without their short comings.
On any given day you are likely to hear the oldest complain about how the middle child is incredibly annoying. The middle child will inevitably come up with some ailment that prevents her from doing chores. And the baby will without a doubt make our lives difficult by pulling dishes from the cabinets and books off the shelf.
Yet, in both lights, our children consistently living within our own little kingdom. There is nothing they can do that would ever cause us to caste them out because they are our children.
Along these same lines, it is interesting that Christ focused so much on the Kingdom of God. And when he did he used the sharp imagery of children. They never live in fear that they have been caste out of love's grasp because it is not with their nature. Furthermore, they don't act like they belong to another family. Likewise, the presence of God's kingdom in our own lives should a parallel reality to that of the kingdom's we live in this world. It is here, present, and we should respond accordingly.
So how do you respond to the kingdom of God being near?
On any given day you are likely to hear the oldest complain about how the middle child is incredibly annoying. The middle child will inevitably come up with some ailment that prevents her from doing chores. And the baby will without a doubt make our lives difficult by pulling dishes from the cabinets and books off the shelf.
Yet, in both lights, our children consistently living within our own little kingdom. There is nothing they can do that would ever cause us to caste them out because they are our children.
Along these same lines, it is interesting that Christ focused so much on the Kingdom of God. And when he did he used the sharp imagery of children. They never live in fear that they have been caste out of love's grasp because it is not with their nature. Furthermore, they don't act like they belong to another family. Likewise, the presence of God's kingdom in our own lives should a parallel reality to that of the kingdom's we live in this world. It is here, present, and we should respond accordingly.
So how do you respond to the kingdom of God being near?
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