A Seed of the Kingdom

Revelation 22:2-3
On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse.
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Belief in the kingdom of God on earth. It took me awhile to believe, and even longer to actively participant. The good news is that I now have an unshakable belief in the kingdom of God on earth. Compassion has played a key role in both my belief and participation.

My belief began when a kingdom seed was planted in my heart. I’m not exactly sure when it was planted. Probably not as a child in a church, for at a young age I didn’t go to church. Church was for families who could afford the clothes to wear. Church was for families that were functional – families whose mothers weren’t bipolar and whose fathers had a job and didn’t drink too much. Church families warned their children about me, telling them, “We don’t want you to associate with kids from families like his.”

The kingdom seed and I started a yearning for a better life. The seed took root and I worked hard to nourish it. I believed and this belief allowed me to become the first in my family’s history to graduate from college, work in an office, and even wear a tie. Steadily but surely, the seed grew into a good size tree. But it wasn’t yet the magnificent tree of life.

One root grew much deeper, and created in me a gnawing sense that there is a much better way. The way that leads to Cross, God’s Paschal Mystery – the process of dying and rising, death and new life. Gradually, I could see fruits of the tree of life all around me – in God’s creation, in Jesus, and in people’s lives.

Tasting these fruits, why seek any other? Why be distracted by counterfeits? I now want nothing more than to be guided by the Holy Spirit in active participation in the building of the kingdom of God on earth. That all may enter into the salvation begun in Jesus Christ that God is working for the sake of the whole world.

Prayer:
Gracious God, move us to compassion, from the need to be right to the place of doing right. Let the love that is at the foundation of creation spread out like roots, bringing life, healing and wholeness to places cracked and broken. I ask this for the sake of your love.