“The Kingdom of Heaven! The Kingdom of Heaven!
It is near, this Kingdom of Heaven.
Are you ready? Go and prepare!
Be keen! Stay awake! Beware!”
These are all the words I received in church today—
About the extent of an exegesis I heard the pastor say.
Why is it that no one ever seems to ask anymore
Exactly how to prepare heretofore?
How can such preparations be done?
How does one ‘get ready’ if the Battle is already won?
What does it mean that the Kingdom of heaven is near?
And why do we often live in dread of something supposedly so dear?
But perhaps the Kingdom of Heaven is not only to be found
Confined within the pews and walls of local church grounds—
At least, not as long as that Great Commission’s still around
Asking Christians to carry the good news to places ‘out of bounds.’
And maybe ‘going to church’ is not in fact the holiest thing one can do—
Actually, this is a theology Jesus and his disciples never knew!
The Commission was the Assignment He to them and to us unfurled,
Showing it’s not about bringing the world to church—
But the church to the world.
‘Reconciliation’ is the name of this great Project,
Where ‘risk’ and ‘trust’ inevitably intersect.
It’s in this tense setting we most experience God’s power and felt presence,
And where Heaven’s Kingdom manifests its greatest and holiest resonance.
We all know, in this world, the Christian is called to be both salt and light,
But do we know this calling beckons us to places without flavor and dark as night?
Against this backdrop does God’s truth make the most of God’s love—
Not so much in prosperous zones where all needs appear disposed of.
“Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near!”
So goes the command we preach boldly yet hardly revere
So long as we detain ourselves behind segregated, dividing church walls,
Justifying the neglect of this preparation for which He so urgently calls.
Thus we traffic Spirit-filled abundance for comfort, bondage, and fear,
All because we fail to realise the King of Heaven
Is already here.
And He is working where the sinful are—
The suffering, the weak, and the confused.
And if you take the step of trust into that place of risk,
You too will be prepared to see His Kingdom by being incredibly used.
———
*Note: The first two stanzas are not allusions to my current church or pastor or any particular pastor.
*Photo found online. Click here.
a beautiful inheritance 