Thinking about God

I was thinking about God. Which led me to think about the Kingdom: God's Kingdom. It's at hand. It's here. It's to come. The Kingdom is like a mustard seed. It is like treasure in a field. It is the most valuable pearl in the world that someone knowledgeable about pearls recognizes and sells everything she has to buy it. That's the Kingdom. I know... pretty mysterious.

Experiencing God in your life today means experiencing the Kingdom: and visa versa. But where do we find the Kingdom? Is it a feeling in the gut? Is it an event in your community? It is big? Is it small? Is it people? Is it things? Is is love? You know... from what I learn in Matthew's Gospel... the answer is yes.

Are these the Kingdom?

- A twenty-one-year-old father picks up his four-year-old son so he can take care of him over the weekend.

- Ten friends ride around an empty school parking lot on bikes: laughing and kidding around.

- A mother looks for help with her four young daughters because she has ran out of food and money.

- A teacher waits to meet her new students and their parents for the first time.

- A man joins an Alcoholics Anonymous group.

- A husband and wife cheer Team USA while watching the Olympics together.

- An elderly man returns home after spending eleven days in nursing home.

Where's the Kingdom of God? No pearls, treasure, or mustard seeds here. Or are there? Just as God surrounds us with his Spirit we are surrounded by examples of the Kingdom happening right now.