The kingdom of heaven is like…

What is the kingdom of heaven like?

That’s what they all wanted to know.

Jesus was describing a kingdom like no other place they’d ever heard of before. Not a distant heaven up there in the sky that you go to when you die, but a wonderful kingdom of light and love and life that can be experienced right here, right now.

The problem is this kingdom is not a physical place that you can buy a ticket to. You can’t hop on a plane and visit it. There’s not visa or passport that will get you in. No reviews on Trip Advisor to tell you what it’s like. No photos. Not even anyone you can talk to who’s already been and can tell you all about it.

Apart from Jesus. Jesus knows all about it. But even he is struggling to find the words to adequately sum and and describe something so incredible in a way that the people around him will understand. And so he uses illustrations from what’s going on around him. Everyday situations that can convey a deeper meaning.

And so…

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.

“Yes,” they replied.

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”  Matthew 13:44-52

These illustrations from Matthew’s account are trying to convey the value of the kingdom of heaven. This kingdom is worth more than anything else we might own or desire to own. When we recognise its true value, we won’t hesitate to let go of everything else. It will be worth whatever sacrifice we are called to make. When we see the kingdom for what it really is, then letting go of everything else will be a joy, because we’ll know without a shadow of a doubt that this new kingdom is far better than anything else we’ve ever come across.

For the men in these illustrations, there is no hesitation. They immediately go and sell all that they have so that they can buy the field with the treasure in it and buy the pearl of great value. They’re giving everything up to invest in something far greater.

There’s an abundance about the kingdom of heaven. You can’t put a price on it. It’s wonderful beyond your wildest imaginings. It’s a net bursting with all kinds of fish (and it will take some time to sort the good from the bad – but that’s not our job. Just know that there will be some who try living in this kingdom with kingdom values who don’t really get it and try to do it on their own terms…and things won’t work out well for them in the long run. God cannot be fooled.).

This kingdom of heaven is new. Jesus has come to proclaim this kingdom – that’s his message on earth. Yes, it’s rooted in God’s relationship with His people up to this point – His laws and traditions about how to live in relationship with Him -but there’s loads of new and exciting stuff too. That’s what the teachers of the law have to understand. They can no longer simply rely on the old; they have to also embrace the new. Doing it the way they’ve always done it simply won’t cut it any more.

I look around the people I know who call themselves Christians (and I’m including myself in here) and I wonder why, for the most part, they don’t seem more excited about the kingdom of heaven. I get a sense that their faith journey is tough and sometimes tedious, lacking in passion and drive. They’re going through the motions – singing the songs, saying the prayers, attending the services – more out of duty than out of a yearning to be in the presence of God. There’s no sense of urgency, no sense of value. No sense that this  kingdom is the best thing ever. Where’s our enthusiasm and our fervour? If this kingdom really is the best world order in which we can live in relationship with each other and with our Creator as it was always intended we should, then why are we not embracing the experience and taking every opportunity to tell other people about it? Why are we not making it clear that everything else we’ve ever owned is worthless in comparison?

Why is that?

For me, it goes back to what we were talking about yesterday. I forget how to really hear. I lose a sense of what it is to really see. My senses are dulled by all that is going on around me. I get so caught up in the physical world that I lose my connection with the spiritual world (that is also going on all around me). I get so distracted by all the stuff I have to do: watching stuff, buying stuff, doing stuff…and it’s all just stuff. I don’t take the time to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’, to sit regularly in the presence of the divine and to get a glimpse of this astonishing kingdom that is available to you and to me.

I don’t know about you. Your reasons may be completely different. But for me, I need to ask God everyday to open my ears and eyes to what is going on in His kingdom all around me and to show me how I can be a part of that. I really do believe that this kingdom is the best thing that’s ever happened to the human race. It’s the best way to live, the way human beings were always intended to live. I just need to work out what that means for me in practice with all the distractions of the day to day.

May God reveal to us all today a glimpse of the immense value of the kingdom of heaven for each one of us – and may we all have eyes to see and ears to hear.