Sight-Seeing

Recently I was in London touring around a bit with a few friends and classmates.  It struck me as kind of funny that none of us had taken along a tour map of the city.  We'd been there several days but had spent much of our time in classes.  It left us with a false sense of confidence as to our abilities to know the city, and it did not take long to realize the error of our ways, but we did not seem to care much about it.  As we encountered various structures or landmarks one of us would quip, “Wow!  That’s cool….I wonder what it is?  I bet it’s something really cool.”  Then we would laugh and go about our walk through town.  Now you could very well be thinking, “These people are crazy!  Why didn’t they just stop to find out?”  Great question to which I have no good answer except that it is making for good material in this blog post. 

We must have encountered a dozen sights that were completely missed on us because of our ignorance.   We had no idea of their story or significance.  At one point I noticed large, imposing arches along the path. As we weaved in and out of them I looked at the other’s and said, “What is this?  It seems significant.  I bet this is something really big and we just can’t tell because we’re too close.”  In keeping with the touring trend for the day, we shrugged our shoulders and kept walking, but the structure never seemed to end.  As we crossed the street we took a look back at where we had been and realized the building we were encountering was the Royal Court of Justice and the structure was MASSIVE!  We were surprised by its all-consuming presence that seemed to silently posture itself among the mundane.

That's when it struck me that God’s Kingdom can be similar.  It is often postured in the ordinary.   We may encounter something that feels significant, maybe a shared moment when heaven seems to come in and introduce itself, a small movement among a group of people, or a glimpse of tender care given to someone in need, and something resonates within us that suggest this “thing”... this “moment” seems significant.  We wonder if it is part of something bigger but we can’t quite bring it into view because what we are experiencing is only a small part of the whole picture.  We are, in that moment, experiencing a piece of God’s Kingdom – It’s His “Kingdom come, on earth as it is in Heaven”.  Our little home called Earth is bathed in God all the time!  We cannot escape it but sometimes we can sure miss it.

Just a few blocks before The Royal Court of Justice we encountered a Romanian Orthodox Church and our experience of that was entirely different than everything else, because we decided to step in and take a peek.   We became part of the service, we were up close with the people in the church, we could hear the music and watch families as they tended to children or walked over to light a candle for prayer.  We understood it just a bit more because we paused long enough to come in closer and encounter the stories held within its walls.

My point in sharing this with you is to bring thought to ways in which we may encounter the Kingdom of God and not even know it because we are unaware it’s “sights”.   Could it be that opportunities to participate in God’s Kingdom are missed on us because we are ignorant of its characteristics?  We spend plenty of time learning about God but less time stepping into the cathedral of his presence and discovering the subtle nuances of his way or the vast spance of his loving purpose and provision.  We tend to say, “Oh that’s cool.  I wonder what it is.  But because we are busy we may not take the time to step closer, peek in, discover its significance and find the treasure of the story held within. God invites us into the story, to become participants in His Kingdom. 

  I was in London studying what it means to be a better student, friend and follower of Jesus and participate in life with Him.  But I find I cannot do that if I do not know what I am looking for.  Jesus’ ministry was devoted to showing those who were interested the sights of the Kingdom.  Matthew chapter 5-7 is packed full of just that!  So is the Levitical Law – Both are a picture of God’s good kingdom and how it could be experienced and expressed among his children. 

So my challenge is this.  Slow down…take in the little moments and look for God in them – He’s there...and you don't want to miss it!  If you’re like me and in need of a map to explain the sights (frankly, we are ALL in need of the map.)  then let's spend time in Matthew 5-7…let's spend the rest of our life reading it…taking it in, getting close, and using it as our guide to discover the good and beautiful sights of God’s Kingdom.  You never know, we may just find ourselves living it in ways we never expected J