Kingdom Living!

I have come to the realisation that applying the Kingdom of God to my life is kind of like organising my wardrobe. This sounds weird so just give me a chance to explain why :)

I have a lot of clothes. So many, that my drawers seem to be breaking from the weight. My clothes get all creased because I have to squash them in. I can rarely be bothered to hang my clothes up once I've tried every item on before leaving the house in the morning, resulting in a pile of clean, creased, unworn clothes at the bottom of my wardrobe. There's no special way that I organise my clothes... which often means that I'll just wear whatever is at the top of the draw. Today, I decided to organise my drawers. So I pulled everything out to fold them neatly and place them nicely in their allocated spaces. It was great! I found clothes that I forgot I even had. They were hidden away in the back of my drawers. I decided to sort my clothes into seasons. Clothes I was likely to wear in the next couple of months (remembering I'm in cold, snowy Canada) were brought to the front of my drawers, and summery clothes were put to the back.
So now I have a tidy chest of drawers and a very nice looking wardrobe. (Could still do with a little more space but it'll do for now.)


So how exactly does this have anything to do with the Kingdom of God?
Firstly, when I talk about the Kingdom of God, i'm talking about the active rule and reign of God – the Kingdom of God is where ever His will is being done. Therefore when I talk about applying the Kingdom of God to my life, I'm applying the principles of His kingdom to every area of my life- allowing Him to reign in me – living by His will, not mine.
We're told in Luke 12:31 and Matthew 6:33 to "seek first the kingdom of God" and Jesus spent his last days with his disciples teaching them about the Kingdom of God - for forty days!! This makes me think that it's pretty important...

So when I was sorting out my wardrobe God spoke to me about some of His kingdom principles that we should work out in our daily lives.

Firstly, we need to get rid of any limits and restrictions. We need to have a greater capacity for more of Him. He always has more for us to grab hold of – just like I can never have enough clothes, we can never have enough of God. As humans, there is only so much our minds can understand. How can we expect to understand the full existence of God in all His glory? We can't. God is revealed to us when our mind stops and the Spirit takes over. The mysteries of the Kingdom are so precious and no matter how much is revealed to us – there is always more to discover!

Secondly, he spoke to me about 'different outfits for different seasons'. God has put deposits in us, gifts and teachings and experiences, that maybe we have forgotten about and pushed to the back of the draw. But at the right time they will be drawn out and brought back to our remembrance. It wouldn't do me any good if I wore my summer clothes in the middle of winter – just like it wouldn't be very effective if I was working with what I have outside of the will of God. The right thing at the wrong time is still the wrong thing. We need to be wise with what we have – attentive to Gods will but at the same time, not neglecting what we do have. Which leads me onto the third thing.

Keeping our clothes in good condition. Matthew 13:1-23 talks about how the word of God is received. It describes seed that is sown in bad soil and good soil. The seed sown in the good soil speaks of “the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”(Matt 13:23) This is how we should be. Not just accepting the word and then neglecting it. But receiving it and understanding it, working it out in our lives – so that when it comes to a season where it's needed, we won't be embarrassed by creased, stained clothes – we can wear what we have with a confidence that it is the best quality.

So to sum up...

1. Expand your capacity so God can give you more! More of His goodness, more of His love, more of His joy... there is always more!
2. Have wisdom in knowing what God requires of you now – when we give everything over to Him, he will show us what is right for the right time. Leave it in His hands.
3. Cultivate the seed you have been given. Don't neglect the wonderful treasures God has given you – spend time exploring them and as you allow the seed to grow, watch it become beautiful, strong and unshakeable.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven!

Amen!