Kingdom of God

July 1, 2019

Scripture Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-14

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favour with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’ So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, ‘Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.’ –2 Kings 5:1-5

I am impressed. A slave, a child, a kidnapped child recognizing her owner’s problem and suggested that the prophet who is in Samaria could cure him of leprosy and he should go see him. Many, perhaps even most of the children we are holding at the border, in cramped unsanitary conditions are Christians. My prayer is that they, too, have the faith this young slave girl had so they can see past that which is harmful to them and let God be the source of their self-worth as God was for this young girl.

We, too, need to remember who we serve and let the love God flow through us so that we can work for justice whenever we are entangle in injustice whether willingly or by our silence. We live in a country that claims to be of the people by the people for the people. Our government should reflect our values. When we do not see that happening, we have a responsibility to work to bring our governmental outcomes in sync with those values. And, yes, that is hard because we are a diverse population representing many religions and those with no religion at all. Jesus Christ called us to be one and we cannot even do that within the population that claims him as their Savior.

We must lean into the guidance of the Holy Spirit and prayerfully consider if our values are in sync with God’s. That will prepare us to open avenue of dialogue with all God’s children and that means everyone to search for Common Ground for the Common Good. Even the smallest action of oneness can be the seed that can spread the love of God throughout the earth.

Prayer: Lord, we are lost in a desert of desolation and do not see those seeds we need to plant. Help us find those seeds of love and plant them and nourish them into full fruition. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.