Kingdom of Life

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” (Matthew 13:44, NIV)

If there is any one thing that God wants us to get, to understand, to have, to practice above all else, it is love.

God is love; it is His essence. And if we are to be like Him we must receive His love and then love others in the same kind of way.

Love is the most important characteristic of our lives. Without it, nothing else really matters.

Some have asked whether there is really such a thing as altruism. Some believe that everything we do, even when it is supposed to benefit others, is ultimately done because it will provide some benefit for ourselves.

Love is real, genuine altruism. It is an attitude which is expressed through actions. It is a genuine desire for the well-being and benefit of someone else. It is a willingness to give, to sacrifice, for another’s sake. Love is giving without the expectation or even thought of being paid back. Sometimes love’s only reward is knowing that someone else will be fed instead of hungry, clothed instead of naked, will live and not die, will be happy instead of sad, will be saved and not lost.

Love comes from God. It is a divine quality. The motivation for love comes from God. The ultimate example of love is God sending His Son to die for us. We receive love, then pass it on to others. It radiates out from God, through His people, and out to the rest of the world. Love is its own reward. Nothing can replace it.

Love is the difference between a species which simply consumes resources for a time and then passes into oblivion, and a people who know their Creator, are connected to their Creator, and are taking after Him, doing as He does.

Love is from God

God is the source of all life and love in the universe. Whatever we have of either is because of God. God’s work has been marred by sin. But if we have been born again we can love as God meant for us to:

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God. The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)

Not only is God love, He showed us what His love is like by sending His Son to die for us. Jesus showed us in a concrete way what love looks like:

By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him. In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:9-10)

Since He has loved us and given us spiritual rebirth through His Spirit, we will love each other in the same way.

Dear friends, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God resides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we reside in God and he in us: in that he has given us of his Spirit. (1 John 4:11-13)

The most excellent way

Love is the most important characteristic of our lives, because to love as God does is to show that we have become His spiritual children and are taking after Him and becoming like Him.

God is love, and the one who resides in love resides in God, and God resides in him. By this love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because just as Jesus is, so also are we in this world.

We love because he loved us first. (1 John 16-19)

Paul wrote that love is so important that nothing else we can do, no matter how impressive, amounts to anything without it:

And now I will show you the most excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:1, NIV)

No matter how great our capacity to express ourselves, without love it is just noise.

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,… (1 Corinthians 13:2a, NIV)

No matter how great our knowledge and understanding, whether of the supernatural or of the natural…

…and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2b, NIV)

…and no matter how great our faith and accomplishments, if we don’t have the love of Christ in us, it is meaningless.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3, NIV)

No matter how great the sacrifices we make, and no matter what we give to others, if it is not motivated by love it is pointless.

And what, exactly, are love’s attributes? How can we define it or describe it?

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV)

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It…always trusts, always hopes…” Clearly, love goes against the grain in a world where hatred seems to grow and the end is used to justify the means. And it entails a willingness to accept risk in relationships with others, even the risk of harm or death, in order to achieve the long-term aim of promoting and spreading the love and the kingdom and the righteousness of God. But the one who has the love of Christ will find that love is an empowering and liberating force which overcomes the fear which would otherwise hold us back:

There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears punishment has not been perfected in love. (1 John 4:18)

Love and fear don’t mix. The one who loves does not fear, and the one who fears does not love.

Love in action

Jesus commanded His followers to love. This is a little like commanding a talkative person to be talkative, or an intelligent person to be intelligent, or a friendly person to be friendly. They would probably do these things anyway because it is in their nature to do so. It is in the nature of those who have put their faith in Christ to love.

Love God

Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (John 14:15) John later wrote, “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world.” (1 John 5:3-4a, NIV) So love for God and worship of God has to do with obedience to God’s commands. And what are His commands?

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter –
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:6-10, NIV)

Love one another

Just before His crucifixion, Jesus told His disciples, “I give you a new commandment — to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples — if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

We should have a special love for each other as brothers and sisters in the family of God. If we really love God we must also love each other.

If anyone says “I love God” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. (1 John 4:20-21, ESV)

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8-9, NIV)

The first believers, in the years following the resurrection of Jesus, practiced these things:

They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

A great persecution broke out against the followers of Christ in Jerusalem a short time later, and many of them were scattered to nearby regions and cities, spreading the good news about Jesus as they went. Many of them ended up in Antioch, a port on the northeast corner of the Mediterranean. The church which sprang up there consisted of believers in Christ from Jewish, Hellenistic Jewish (non-Jews who had converted to Judaism) and Gentile (non-Jewish) backgrounds. Believers were first called Christians at Antioch. (Acts 11:26)

It was non-believers who were calling them Christians (in the early years of the church the term was used mainly by those outside of the church). The believers in Antioch were a very diverse group; the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians were poles apart in their religious and moral backgrounds. Yet they were practicing love toward one another; they must have been, in order to attract the notice of the populace of a city which at the time was the third-largest in the Roman Empire, a thriving commercial center with half a million people. “Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples — if you have love for one another.”

There may sometimes be disagreements and problems in the church. But scripture shows the early church overcoming — by the power of the love of Christ — divisions at least as great as anything we have had to deal with since.

We must be willing to sympathize with each other — be willing to look at things from each others’ point of view. We must not compromise what is clearly taught in the Word of God but we can and should bear with each other and give each other the benefit of the doubt regarding ‘disputable matters’ (Romans 14) — the issues which sometimes arise over which there can be reasonable disagreement.

And again, loving one another is not an option, it is a command. After Jesus washed His disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, he made this clear:

So when Jesus had washed their feet and put his outer clothing back on, he took his place at the table again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and do so correctly, for that is what I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you too ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example — you should do just as I have done for you. I tell you the solemn truth, the slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent as a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand these things, you will be blessed if you do them. (John 13:12-17)

If we know we should do something and yet are struggling to do it, we know we can call on God — who has promised to transform us into the likeness of His Son — to help us by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Love your neighbor

We love our brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God. But we also are to love all people.

Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.” (Luke 10:25-33)

Samaria was a region which had once been part of Israel. The Israelites there had turned completely away from God several centuries before, and had been invaded and occupied by foreigners as a result. The Samaritans were descendents of those Israelites and also of the people the foreign governments had brought into the area to strengthen their hold on it. The Jews did not consider the Samaritans part of Israel and had as little to do with them as possible.

“He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’ Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.” (Luke 10:34-37)

Jesus said our love must extend even to those who do us harm — that is, if we are to be like our heavenly Father, who loves and is interested in all people:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48, ESV)

We are to not only love those who do us harm but be ready to forgive them:

Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!” (Matthew 18:21-22)

On another occassion, Jesus said:

“If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (Luke 17:3-4)

Sin is not something to be overlooked, and it is appropriate to talk to someone about how they have wronged you or me. But the objective is not retaliation, it is to show the other person the same love God has shown us.

We are not our own; we were bought with the blood of Jesus. What we have to go through will never be anything more than what He had to go through. We will not be commended for forgiving those who ask for our forgiveness; it is something expected of us by God just as a servant is expected by his master to wait on him. (Luke 17:7-10)

Furthermore, as followers of  Christ, we desire to show the love of Christ to others, to let them see what the Lord has done for us and what He can do for them. During the apostle Paul’s second missionary journey, he and Silas were in Philippi. They encountered fierce opposition there. A crowd attacked them, and the magistrates had them beaten and thrown into prison. The jailer was ordered to guard them carefully, so he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the rest of the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly a great earthquake occurred, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. Immediately all the doors flew open, and the bonds of all the prisoners came loose. When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, because he assumed the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out loudly, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!” Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell down trembling at the feet of Paul and Silas. Then he brought them outside and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him, along with all those who were in his house. At that hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and all his family were baptized right away. The jailer brought them into his house and set food before them, and he rejoiced greatly that he had come to believe in God, together with his entire household. (Acts 16:25-34)

Paul and Silas were more concerned about others around them than they were about themselves. They were more interested in the jailer’s well-being than in retaliating against him. They did not immediately jump up and run out of the prison, but stayed in deference to the authorities and focused on advancing the kingdom of God. After all, God had caused the quake; He was in complete control of the situation, so why did they need to run anywhere? Their conduct, before and after the earthquake, apparently influenced the other prisoners as well, because Paul was able to say to the jailer after the earthquake, “We are all here!”

Lives were changed and impacted for eternity because Paul and Silas loved those around them, placed their lives in God’s hands and allowed Him to work through them. They did not react in a worldly way and take matters into their own hands.

Now is the time

In previous ages, God’s people were waiting for God to do something or reveal something before God’s kingdom could really start breaking out into the world and before they could really start fully participating in its advancement. But that is no longer the case.

Jesus defeated sin and death on the cross.

Later, after His resurrection, Jesus met His disciples in Galilee and told them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Several weeks after Jesus’ resurrection, and shortly after He had ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in Jerusalem, to guide and empower and animate the church, the body of Christ.

For centuries, the prophets of Israel had spoken of the time when all the world’s people would be blessed through God’s people (Genesis 12:3), the Savior would come to take away sin (Isaiah 53:12), be a light to the people of the world, restore sight to the blind and set captives free (Isaiah 42:6-7), and God would pour out His Spirit on all people (Joel 2:28).

That time has come.

We have been saved from sin and death, and have been given a new heart and a new spirit. We have been given a purpose and a role in reaching a lost and dying world for God. We have God’s Word to direct us. We can pray and know God will hear us. He has given us authority to spread the good news of the kingdom of God and the forgiveness of sins. He has given us power and wisdom to do this, to meet the spiritual and physical needs all around us, and to love others with His kind of love.

God has already given us everything we need. While we continue to grow spiritually, from a fundamental standpoint there is nothing else that God needs to do for us or tell us in order for us to be ready to impact the world with the love of Christ. We are not waiting on God to give all of us some new revelation or power before we can take on adult responsibilities in His kingdom.

This is the last age before Christ returns to this world and the new heaven and new earth begin (Revelation 21). This world is passing away:

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,and look at the earth beneath;
for the heavens vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment,
and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever,
and my righteousness will never be dismayed. (Isaiah 51:6, ESV)

This world is in the process of being replaced by the kingdom of God. In fact, God’s kingdom is already breaking through in the form of His church, His people:

For the creation eagerly waits for the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility — not willingly but because of God who subjected it — in hope that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now. (Romans 8:19-22)

Time is on the side of God’s kingdom; it is on the side of love and righteousness. The eternal and imperishable will replace the temporal and perishable (1 Corinthians 15:35-56).

But time is not on the side of this world and all of the people in it who are lost and separated from God by sin. The judgment, the day of reckoning, must come from a loving and righteous God. And yet He is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but wanting all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (2 Peter 3:9, 1 Timothy 2:4). He has chosen us to be the light that will shine into the world, drawing people to Him (Matthew 5:13-16). We are here to be His messengers, His hands, His feet. And if we love as He does we will care about the world’s people as He does; our outlook will be dominated by that care and concern.

This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away. (1 Corinthians 7:29-31, ESV)

In our attitudes and actions we should be like our Lord and Savior:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:35-38, ESV)

And we know that as we serve the Lord and express His love to people, He will be with us always, to the very end of the age.