relationships. The disciples had to be fully committed to the Kingdom. It would be all or nothing. The Kingdom requires action. Jonah, get up and go. Corinthian church, get your perspective right. Fishermen, stop, drop, and follow me.
The Kingdom of God may seem far off, but it is actually very near. God is already at work forming a people, a community, for God’s glory. The Kingdom and Kingdom work may include people and things of which we are unfamiliar. Kingdom work may require us to sacrifice and stretch our faith in order to enter in. But within it, we are surely going to experience the presence of God and the beauty of community. We don’t have to wait to be swept away to a far-off place sometime in the future to experience this. We can experience it in the here and now.
1 Beth L. Tanner. “Commentary on Jonah 3:1-5,” 10, Working Preacher, https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=229, accessed 12/26/19.
Chapter One
A Not So Small Kingdom
When you think of the Kingdom of Heaven, what comes to mind? Do you think of a place? It’s okay if you do. I would never say that a person is wrong for thinking of heaven in physical terms. When I was a teenager singing in the youth choir at Sweet Home Missionary Baptist Church in Gatesville, TX, we sang multiple songs about heaven. My favorite contained these words:
“Have you heard of a city, the streets are paved with gold? Have you heard of a city, the streets are paved with gold? 12 gates in the city. 24 elders in the city. Waiting for me in the city. When we all get to heaven, we’re going to have a time.”
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