Kingdom of God

He said unto another man, Follow me.'But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but you thou and preach the kingdom of God' (Luke 9:59-60)

I remember reading this Bible verse many moons ago, and wondering at the almost calloused response Jesus gives to a man that wants to bury his father. With a matured understanding of the character of Jesus, I read this verse and see revealed therein, the heart of God. If I boil this concept down to its elemental components, life and death are the issues that remain.

Picture this
Can you imagine, dear reader, being in the physical I-can-see-him-hear-him-touch-him presence of God Almighty? Now imagine him saying to you Follow me. Next, hear yourself saying Hey God, as exciting as your mission for me sounds, I have some business to take care of back home... can you give me a couple of days and I'll catch up with you later?

When we look closely at Jesus' reply to the mans request to first let me go, we can see that Jesus is all at once, making a statement and giving an order. The dead bury the dead but the living, dear reader, are to go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

What, is the kingdom of God, pray tell? It is Jesus, anticipated and then announced:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). Let us be really clear: Jesus has no time for the dead dear one, He has His eyes on the living. He has His eyes on you and me, and what He wants us to know, is that following Him is our most-important-must-get-taken-care-of-now business. He has a mandate for each of us, and this may include forsaking others, including our relatives, to proclaim His Kingship.

Overpoweringly attractive

The King, in our midst

I don't know about you, but I find Jesus irresistible; this is true because I am one of His people! His gravitational pull is overpoweringly attractive, and I don't want to say no when He says follow me. I am disinclined to reject the assigned task of proclaiming the kingdom of God. A Christian just cannot help themselves, because to deny Jesus is to deny life: it is this serious, this important. I simply must, follow Him and proclaim to anyone who will listen, including to you here and now, to Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2).(

Head over heels in love
My hope is that you too, are head over heels in love with Jesus, God (is) in your midst. My prayer is that you follow Him and proclaim Him as King. I live on hopes and prayers... He listens!

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16)

I could say something soothing here and effectually let us off the proverbial hook, about how hard it is to follow Him, to stay on task and mission, but that would be a lie for me, because each day that I open my eyes anew, becomes another opportunity to pledge my allegiance to Him, to Jesus as my God, my King! It gives me deep pleasure and I hope, I hope, it does for you too.