“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” – Matthew 6:33
The kingdom of God is beautifully defined by love, joy, and peace. Of course, the greatest of these is love. It is not a place far away, a utopia we will never see. The kingdom of God is here. The kingdom of God is now. When Jesus was teaching and preparing his disciples to go out and preach, he said, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 10:7) God’s kingdom was present in Jesus. God’s kingdom is present in and through the Holy Spirit.
God’s kingdom is not defined by the absence of challenges and evil. In fact, when Jesus was teaching his disciples how to pray, he said for us to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Because evil is very real and present, the citizens of God’s kingdom must be intentional in avoiding evil and active in looking for, and participating in, God’s kingdom.
One of the ways that we participate in God’s kingdom is by focusing on the things that reflect God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is defined by love, joy, and peace. We must look for the things that represent the attributes of God’s kingdom. One of the ways I choose to do this is by looking for positive stories. This is not easy to do. There is an old saying about news and media in our culture. That saying goes like this, “If it bleeds, it leads.” This statement is a bit harsh, but it reflects how much of our media works. The more dramatic, the more grotesque, the more ridiculous, the more it seems that we put the story in front of as many eyes as possible. This should not be so.
When we read or watch the news, we must be careful. As God’s people we should, “Seek first the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 6:33) We should look for and look at things that convey love, joy, and peace. Each day there are good things that happen in our community and our world. People do wonderful acts of kindness that help to build a better world. We should look to these stories, on TV and online, to remind us of the possible good in this world and to inspire us to do good.
– Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
