Living in the Spirit

July 31, 2023

Scripture Reading:

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

‘The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

‘Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  –Matthew 13:44-47

I like to think of the Kingdom of Heaven in terms of the Beloved Community. Building the Beloved Community is something Jesus began modeling for us when he started his ministry on Earth. Following his resurrection, he assigned all his followers the responsibility to make the Beloved Community a reality worldwide.  He certainly did not expect us to just sit around waiting for him to come back and fix all the problems of the world.  He called us to create a world ruled by love where everyone has enough of the necessities of life and the opportunity to become fully the persons God created them to be.

Prayer: Lord, open our eyes to see where we can contribute to the building of the Beloved Community. 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.