The Subversive Kingdom

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Jesus was obsessed with the Kingdom of God. All of his parables and teachings centre on the Kingdom; Mustard seeds, feasts, yeast, camels, lost pennies, rich men, prostitutes and tax collectors, children, water & spirit, houses, ploughs, servants, kings, eyes plucked out… all these are used to teach us something that Jesus is so passionate about that he makes it the focus of his message and the centre of our calling. (Luke10:9) Yet would many of us continue to pray; ‘Your Kingdom come’ if we knew that in the short term it could result in the loss of our job, or our home; the persecution of our church, or the suffering of those we love? Those early believers, whom Jesus taught to pray the Kingdom, saw it coming in power (Mk9:1). The effects were seen both in miracles and persecution. They saw people converted and healed…and with it many lost their jobs (even their lives) and were hounded from one city to the next…The Kingdom of God is subversive in the extreme. It doesn’t just ‘transform’ the powers that be, for some it threatens their very existence. When the gospel is preached in power, the status quo is challenged to the core and man made structures and authorities come to realise that they have a short life span and will soon be overtaken (Rev11:15). This will result in sometimes cataclysmic effects as the demonic ‘ruling powers’ of this world reel under the assault of the Kingdom. The Kingdom does not come by ‘careful observation’ (Lk17:20) or by the power or the wisdom of men, but through the wisdom of God. Clearly it is welcomed by our seeking it above all else, and by praying with all our hearts the prayer our Lord taught us.

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