THE TRANSPARENT KINGDOM

I’d like to say we’re moving on from our study in ‘grace’ as it pertains to the Kingdom of God, but the truth of the matter is; as Christians we are never too far away from the topic of grace.  In yesterday’s lesson, we began looking at the kingdoms of this world in comparison to the Kingdom of God. Actually we looked at the different societies mankind creates to bring order, and stability to our daily lives.  I would usually transfer our study sheet, and embellish it for this blog, but I wrote this lesson more than a year and a half ago.  It is written in bullet statement style, and wouldn’t make for an interesting blog. 

The gist of the lesson is how we form governments and kingdoms.  We began by looking at families, tribes (extended families), nations, cultural alliances, and the modern concept of globalism.  Of all the kingdoms that men have created through the years, none of them could bridge the language gap.  Without a common language, there can be no true understanding.  In the past, attempts at global kingdoms failed for lack of understanding.  Actually, it is more complicated than that, but the smallest societal groups split up over minor differences.  Understanding, which requires good communication, is the cornerstone of all successful societies.  Believing in the goodness, purpose, and intentions of the leaders of the society, allows the society to grow.  Sadly, somewhere along the line, a leader will make a decision they ‘believe’ can’t be understood by the people, or may even be a stretching of the society’s moral code. It is at this point, a critical decision to be either transparent or secretive is made.  Transparency will further the society’s growth, or cause it to begin the slow decline toward self-destruction.

All the kingdoms of this world are empowered by knowledge.  Knowledge is power. The kingdoms of this world fail because they seek to control knowledge. The control of knowledge is an illusion, just as control is an illusion.  The problem, is man’s fear of losing control. 

The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, isn’t plagued by this failure.  It is the Father’s GOOD pleasure to give us the keys to the Kingdom.  He isn’t threatened by what we know.  A matter of fact, he wants us to know all about Him.  His Kingdom is built upon us being intimate with Him to the point of his telling us everything.  It gives Him great pleasure to share what He knows.  The problem arises when Christian men, and women give in to their carnal nature.  When we attempt to build physical kingdoms out of Spiritual building material, God will only let it go so far.  Because he is ever merciful, tender, and kind, He is always warning those who try to create their own kingdom.  There are always ever increasing warnings to stop doing what they are doing.  The Kingdom of God will never be enclosed in secret levels, hidden rooms, buried documents, or as secret orders.  Those religions, denominations, and fellowships that do things in secret, will eventually be destroyed by the very secret they tried to hide. This was never Christ’s plan for us. 

Praise God, the Kingdom of God is once more advancing, due in large part to the power of the internet, television, and social media.  As men and women learn more by the Holy Spirit, the light of knowledge is spreading to the ends of the earth. The greatest threat to the Church will always be when Christians become fearful, and attempt to control the knowledge of the Kingdom.