lent 23 day 7

 Kingdom

It feels a bit odd that for the first time in my life I am living in the reign of a King as opposed to a Queen.  (Although I have lived in the United Kingdom all my life and never once stopped to think about the fact that my country has royal rule in its very name. )  For at least the next 100 years we are likely to have a King on the throne, Charles, William and George, and those poor men will have the job of being the public face of a nation.  They will ceremonially exercise the role of state headship without having much power to make any political changes.  They will be on duty 24/7, constantly under the glare of the media as they promote good relations across the Commonwealth and engage in diplomacy abroad.  

Lots of people dont think a King ( or Queen) is desirable or necessary.  Lots of people would rather the UK were a republic with an elected president.  But interestingly, most people across the world, whatever their political views, held the late Queen in such huge respect that they were happy to see her as head of state regardless.   You can disagree with the office but still want the office holder to have the position 😄  Why?  Because of love and respect for the character of the one who holds office. 




Jesus is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His Kingdom is established from before the foundation of the world and He is seated at the right hand of His Father exercising rule and authority over all things.  His birth changed history.  He tops the poll of the most famous person in the world of all time ( not bad for a carpenter who was only in a very limited public eye for three years) All the worlds major religions recognise Him as a significant teacher and prophet.  We call Him Lord.

God's Kingdom is intensely practical.  The more Ive looked into it over the years the more I have come to understand that every single thing He decrees is both for our own good and for the benefit of society as a whole and the planet on which we live.  A few examples.

God ordained prayer.  Be still and know.  How much of modern understanding of mental health now recognises the importance of ' mindfulness', being quiet. breathing well, turning off gadgets, being in nature?  

God ordained worship.  Whilst worship isnt solely about singing, singing is a large part of worship and singing is SO good for our bodies and our minds.  Singing has been prescribed as a cure for covid related illnesses.  It releases endorphines.  Its great for our mental wellbeing.  We were made to sing

God ordained fasting.  Refraining from food for periods of time is really good for our bodies. Read up on it.  It has so many health benefits.  God didnt ask us to fast because He felt like testing us to see how much we love Him.  He knows it's physically beneficial.  It improves brain health,  insulin production, immune system responses,  regulates metabolism  and more.  Add into that the spiritual dynamic of seeking Him and praying whilst we fast and we get even more benefit.

God ordained circumcision.  This one blew my mind.  Again, God did not just ask His people to circumcise their boys for some weird religious ceremonial reason.  It actually reduces cases of urinary tract infections massively.  Back in the days before antibiotics when infections killed lots of people on a daily basis circumcision was a lifesaver.  It protects from other diseases too.  If you dont believe me read this https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/health-benefits-of-circumcision/



And so it goes on.  God ordained marriage because it is not good for us to be alone.  He ordained feast days and holidays because He knows how valuable family time and socialising is for our emotional wellbeing.   He ordained a Sabbath because He wants us to avoid burnout.  He ordained tithing because without everyone giving into the communal pot the world ends up with massive wealth disparities, greed, poverty and a church ill equipped to look after itself or its community.  He ordained jubilee - and interestingly we have never managed to do what He asks us to do in that instance ( revert everything, including land,  purchased or borrowed to its original owner every 50 years) .  The commandments of God are good.  His rule is good.  The Kingly reign of our righteous King is what makes this planet run well and properly, as per the Makers instructions.   We set aside His rule at our peril and reap the consequences.  

The basis of living in the Kingdom of God is set out for us in the Bible.  Deuteronomy and Leviticus set out in detail the way we should live in every area of our lives in order to thrive.   So why did Jesus pray for the kingdom to come?  Because He knew that following rules just leads to dead legalism and that it is only possible for God to reign when He has changed our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh.  When we embody the spirit of the law and are motivated by love for God and each other.  Everything God ordains for us is because He loves us.  Until we understand that we will see Him as a hard taskmaster and will impose hard tasks on each other.  Like the Pharisees did. 

Heres a song to worship with today https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jkMnq2Hfzo&t=27s

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