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Let’s start with a simple question - Do you think the world is getting better or getting worse?
The Scripture says that Jesus came preaching the good news of kingdom of God...
Luke 4:43 - But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
Luke 8:1 - After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.
In fact, Jesus actually declares that the Kingdom of Heaven is here now...
Matthew 4:17 - From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
At the beginning of the 20th century you would have been laughed almost to scorn if you had suggested that the world is getting worse instead of better. Today it is the other way around. Most people that I talk to today tend to see things getting worse in the world, not better. It is hard to turn on a cable news channel without hearing about another terrible tragedy or horrific crime or awful disaster in some part of the world. If we are honest, there is plenty of evidence all around us that sees to contradict Jesus‘ declaration that the Kingdom is here and that it is good news.
Jesus gives us a way of understanding the world and the role of His Kingdom in it in simple little story called the parable of the wheat & the weeds...
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
While it is true that the Bible consistently declares that the Kingdom is here now and that it started the moment Jesus came, in this parable, Jesus tells us something very important about what life is like in the Kingdom right now - The Kingdom of God will not go uncontested in this world. Jesus is telling us is that there is another kingdom growing right alongside of the Kingdom of God. These two kingdoms coexist side by side in the world, but it is not a peaceful coexistence. These two kingdoms; the Kingdom of God & the kingdom of this world, are striving against each other for supremacy in the hearts of men & women and in the structures of human society.
So, back to our original question...
Is the world getting worse? Yes, the kingdom of this world is increasing in its effects; oppression, violence, injustice, wars, etc. until Christ puts an end to it at the final harvest.
Is the world getting better? Yes, the Kingdom of Heaven arrived in Jesus and it is growing and advancing in mercy, love, kindness, charity and grace until the harvest at the end of the age.
What does this mean for you and me today? It means that we are not to be surprised or discouraged when we see the enemy at work in the world around us. We are not doubt the reality of God’s Kingdom just because we the effects of a rival kingdom in the world. We are to get busy doing the Kingdom work He has called us to as we look forward to the Harvest!
Jeff Frazier
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