I'm not just talking about times when I've grasped what Jesus meant when he said, "The kingdom of God is like..." I'm talking about times when I've seen the kingdom of God lived out in real life.
One week ago today a family of five that we had known for barely a week moved in with us because we felt a clear leading from God to offer them a place to stay. What we did was neither heroic nor saintly; it was a simple matter of glimpsing God's kingdom.
It has been a wonderful week, with many good things happening and no problems beyond a teething baby that was inconsolable for a couple of hours. The entire experience has felt like a wonderful visit by old friends.
I've been thinking this week about other glimpses of God's kingdom I've been privileged to see during my life. I thought back over the years and quickly came up with a list of twenty-five times when I've seen God's kingdom break into this world and into my life. No two instances have been alike, though all have shared similar themes of the "shalom" of God's rule bringing peace and joy, love and mercy, brokenness and healing.
There is something biblical about this kind of remembering. Throughout the Bible, we find people recounting stories of how God has broken into their world. When you read the sermons of Peter, Stephen and Paul in the Acts of the Apostles, it is hard not to be struck by the fact that these are not abstract messages about the nature of God, but concrete recitations of what God has done.
What glimpses of God's kingdom have you been privileged to see? Today is a good day to remember those times in your life when you were embraced by God's people, felt God's presence, experienced God's power, or grasped God's purpose for your life.
Maybe this week God will give you an opportunity to share one or more of these remembrances with someone. If you want to share them with me, my email is dnich1803@gmail.com
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