As we enter into this New Year it is very easy to start formulating plans to help bring about God’s kingdom. However we will never be able to succeed at this because the Kingdom of God – His role and reign – is not something we can create.
Instead it is that which we are called to demonstrate in our lives and in the life of the church and community, even though we cannot bring it about in our own strength. Yet nor do we have to.
Psalm 23 – He guides me in paths of righteousness.
I remember reading a newspaper article about a young man who collapsed at a disco. On examining the man, a medic found him to be wearing fifteen T-shirts, which had caused him to overheat. The young man had put on layers and layers of clothing to achieve look that made him feel better about himself. Ultimately it was this thinking that brought about his suffering, and embarrassment.
“The LORD will bless His people with peace.”
Psalm 29:11
Restoring broken relationships.
Many years ago my wife and I bought a Tiffany print for £50, (a large outlay for students!). The picture was full of vibrant colours, as you looked out onto a landscape through a medieval window, and I would often find myself drawn to the picture. Many years later I went online to look at how much another print would cost. In looking at a picture of the one I already owned I came to realise that, over the years, I had not noticed how much it had faded – or that the colours now bore little similarity to the original. I now knew the difference and could not restore my picture. Eventually I took it down, and then threw it out. Many of us feel that our lives lack lustre and write ourselves off – yet we have a Father who can restore even the most damaged of lives.
The following story from the book, ‘Miracle on the River Kwai, is an example of God at work, and reminds us of how Christ reached out to His enemies, even at Calvary. It reveals how people can forgive and even love their enemies. At the time of writing, the author (Ernest Gordon), was a prisoner who, along with many others, had suffered greatly at the hands of the Japanese.
Someone once bought me a lottery ticket and I started thinking of all the ways I could help people. For example, it would be great to see the face of someone who was struggling to pay the mortgage when they opened a letter and found a cheque that paid off their mortgage. It would be great to see the face of someone who’d had years of trouble with an old banger of a car, as they opened a letter and found keys to a brand new car parked outside their home. It would be great to help out Christian organisations that were struggling, or to see the face of a friend when you gave them the holiday of a lifetime. Yet, in all this thinking about the help and freedom that people could find, there was this deep down feeling that all this would not really bring about true freedom of heart and mind. This is because the Bible says, only God can really do that. He wants us to find freedom in the life He offers us. And this, rather strangely to some, brings us to the word ‘religion.’