And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, May, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
Luke 1:30-33
Good morning Prayer Team!
Everything has a beginning and an end, except for the Kingdom of God. This is a profound thought. In our lives, we are constantly marking beginnings and endings, such as the beginning of a school year and the end of a school year. In history, there are beginnings and ends of wars and empires.
We have discussed the eternal nature of God regarding that God has no beginning. And now we move to God’s Kingdom having no end. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus. The parable is about two men, one a rich man who dresses extravagantly, and who feasts sumptuously, and who has no regard for a man named Lazarus, who sits at the foot of his table, hoping to eat some of the crumbs that the rich man isn’t going to eat anyway. Lazarus is sick and covered with sores. In time, both men die. The rich man finds himself in hell, not because he is rich, but because he was indifferent and self-absorbed. Lazarus is in the bosom of Abraham, not because he is poor, but because he is patient, he stays in his lane.
The rich man sees Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and asks Abraham to send Lazarus down to hell to provide relief, for Lazarus to dip his finger in water and place it on the tongue of the rich man to provide some relief for him. Abraham answers that this is impossible. He tells the rich man that in his lifetime he enjoyed good things and Lazarus suffered evil things, and now Lazarus is comforted while the rich man is in anguish. Moreover, he says, “besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass form here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26) Positioning in heaven and hell is permanent. In hell, there is no relief from suffering or hope of redemption. In heaven, there is a never-ending joy with no fear of falling away from God. Entrance into the Kingdom of God will be a permanent state.
The Kingdom of God is a present reality. We live in the presence of God in this life. We worship God on earth. The church is meant to be a piece of heaven on earth. In some respects, our life on earth is like an internship in heaven. For those who have had internships, how well we do at them affects whether a company will consider us for permanent placement. Our life on earth works in a similar way. We have an “internship” so to speak, to see how well we use our talents, serve others, and demonstrate our love for God, and then He considers us for permanent placement in His heavenly Kingdom, revealing that to us at the Last Judgment.
So much of life is transient that we might forget the eternal. Days come and go. We begin high school or college and then we graduate. We begin careers and eventually retire. Relationships come and go, even good ones, as people move or pass on. And because we live such a transient existence, we might be tempted to think that everything is temporary, and life then becomes a “get what you can while you can” or a “you only live once” kind of proposition, and then we stop thinking of our lives in an eternal vacuum. Faith is an understanding of our lives in the span of eternity, and why our live on earth will affect our eternal standing.
Years ago, I used a rope and a paper clip as an illustration for eternity. I laid a rope down the center aisle of our church, and near the altar, I clipped a paper clip to the rope. Everyone in the church could see the rope. Hardly anyone could see the paper clip on the rope. The message was that the rope represented eternity and the paper clip represented our life. A great life without faith sets us up for that blip of life, even the greatest life, to be followed by an eternity of sadness. A life with faith, even the most difficult life, sets us up for an eternity of joy. The Kingdom of God has no end. Our life is an internship for the Kingdom and where we would like to spend eternity.
I will extol Thee, my God and King, and bless Thy name forever and ever. Every day I will bless Thee, and praise Thy name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall laud Thy works to another, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty and on Thy wondrous works I will meditate. Men shall proclaim the might of Thy terrible acts, and I will declare Thy greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of Thy abundant goodness, and shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and His compassion is over all that He has made. All thy works shall give thanks to Thee, O Lord, and all Thy saints shall bless Thee! They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom, and tell of Thy power, to make known to the sons of men Thy mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of Thy kingdom. Thy Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Thy dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His deeds. The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to Thee, and Thou givest them their food in due season. Thou openest Thy hand, Thou satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The Lord is just in all His ways, and kind in all His doings. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He fulfills the desire of all who fear Him, He also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love Him; but the wicked
He will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless His holy name, forever and ever. Psalm 145
Everything has a beginning and an ending, except the Kingdom of God.
0 Comments