“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 evil. This world is filled with challenges and obstacles. 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 real and present, the citizens of God’s kingdom must intentionally avoid evil and actively look for and participate 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 our media works. The more dramatic, the more grotesque, the more ridiculous, the more argumentative, 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, scroll through social media, watch movies, read books and more, we must be careful. As God’s people, we should “Seek first his kingdom.” (Matthew 6:33). We should look for and look at things that convey love, joy, and peace. Each day, good things happen in our community and our world. People perform beautiful acts of kindness that help to make a positive difference. We should look to these positive stories, on TV and online, to remind us of God’s kingdom and allow them to inspire us to do good.
Rev. Keith King, Pastor of Worship
