The Expanding Kingdom--by Linden Malki

How do we know Jesus? He often said "Go and tell what you have seen Me do."  We are to know Him by His works, from the smallest attention to a child to the masterwork of His Resurrection. Everything He did was in the context of building the Kingdom of God, not by compulsion but by example.

How do we know God? By His works--from the magnificence of His Universe to the tiniest detail of His creations. I am constantly amazed at the beauty, complexity and variety of what He makes! He didn't tell us everything about it (that would be impossible); He put it out there for us to see and study and learn.  We are still constantly learning, and will probably never know everything about it in out own lifetimes. The more we learn about it, the bigger we realize that it is, and are reminded that it will never be bigger than its Creator.  It's easier for our little human minds to shrink the image down to what we can understand. We need to remember that we cannot understand; we can appreciate and share our wonder and awe.

Everything He makes is is individual, unique in its own way.  We, His people, are amazing. We are made more complex that we understand ourselves; we can only truly be what we were created to be in relationship to Him. We can learn about God from looking at the creatures He made--remembering that there is more there than we know; that He has built us for relationships; with each other and with Him. We are created in families; related and with things in common, but constantly changing. We are related to, but different  from, our parents. Just the developing relationships between the first three persons in the beginning family is a constantly shifting and challenging and growing  thing. Add this to the rest of the world, and learning how to love each other is a project worth a lifetime.

Families expand into tribes, which become communities, nations, kingdoms. What does knowing about God the Creator tell us about the Kingdom of God? First, it has a King;  who is the authority and shaper. It is intended to be a growing organism; God makes things to grow.  Who are the subjects? Intentionally, all of the people He has made. The problem here is that He wants those who wants Him; people who are not willing to accept His offer and recognize His authority have no place.   Where do we fit? First, we become part of the family.   Then as we grow up becoming His people this will show what He has done for us--not things that make us look good as ourselves, but the things that show His love and care for us.  As we grow spiritually, we attract others to the Kingdom, not because we nag, but because we live a true story that expands the knowledge and shape of the Christian life. Yes, that sounds scary; no, we're not doomed if we aren't perfect. In fact, dealing with failure, repentance, forgiveness and restoration is an important part of the story.

The Kingdom has expanded, unevenly, sloppily at times, and with apparent setbacks here and there. We do not know the whole story; it is like leaven, which cannot be seen as it spreads. We do not know when it has been growing underground; who has been touched without our noticing. But we know that it went from 12 to 120 without a lot of public notice, but then to 3000 in a day. One way and another, we are looking at numbers today in the billions. We do not know who is affected by who we are and how we live; but in the long run the only Person we need to worry about is God.