Blog.

The idea of the “Kingdom of God” isn’t new, but it probably isn’t talked about as much as it should be.  A quick search reveals that the phrase “Kingdom of God” is used 68 times in the bible; 54 of those in the Gospels, and 44 (if I counted correctly) of those are quotes by Jesus.  With 31 of the 54 references in the book of Luke alone, you could make a pretty good case that Jesus thought the Kingdom of God was important.  “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” (Luke 4:43) “After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 8:1) “and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” (Luke 9:2) “He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.” (Luke 9:11)

Many times we, as Christians, get so fixated on the crucifixion that we forget that His death and resurrection is only the beginning of our journey.  Jesus died so that we may have LIFE (John 10:10); we become NEW CREATIONS (Galations 6:15), children, if you will, of the faith.  How many parents have children and then never educate them?  Never teach them their alphabet, how to walk, how to act around other children?  How many people tell their children “now that you’re born, you should spend your entire life living at home and thanking me for birthing you?”  NO ONE!  That would be absurd, right?  When we spend our (spiritual) lives huddled at the foot of the cross, living in shame and guilt from our sin and constantly begging for forgiveness, that’s exactly what we’re doing.  God doesn’t want us to just “get saved”; Yes, He wants us to kneel at the cross, confess our sins, repent, and celebrate the resurrection, but then He wants us to rise from the cross and start our own journeys, growing and maturing in the faith, bringing the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel to ALL people of ALL nations. (Matthew 28:16, Mark 16:15)

Or in other words, proclaim the Kingdom of God wherever you go, just as Jesus, Paul, and Muhammad did.

Wait.  Muhammad talked about the Kingdom?  Ok, maybe he wasn’t preaching the Gospel in the same way as Jesus and Paul, but he did write this:  ”And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and Allah has power over all things.” (Surah 3:189, Shakir translation) “And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah is the eventual coming.” (Surah 24:42, Shakir) “And blessed is He Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and with Him is the knowledge of the hour, and to Him shall you be brought back.” (Surah 43:85, Shakir)  The Kingdom of God is a familiar concept to people of the Islam faith.  With the concepts from part 1 in mind, if we are truly looking for common ground, talking about the Kingdom of God is a great start.

Next up: “The Straight Path: Entering into the Kingdom”

So most of you probably know I just returned from an 8 day trip to Israel/Palestine.  I feel the need to write about it, but I’m not really sure how to record everything in my head on “paper”.  Probably the most life changing week of my short 30 years, it brought me through a journey that started with an excited ignorance, moving through periods of enlightenment, bewilderment, sadness, anger, joy, brokenness, and finally, restoration and a sense of purpose.

My journey started with a conference I had to work (and wanted to attend) that was centered around taking a fresh look at the Islam faith and the Muslim culture.  The people who presented spoke of The Kingdom of God, and how to engage people with a “Kingdom” mindset.  They spoke of the importance of finding common ground with those you meet, instead of focusing on the issues you disagree on.  How many friends have you made lately by starting a conversation with “everything you think you believe in is wrong; let me tell you why I’m right”?  It sounds absurd, but that’s typically what we western “Christians” do when we don’t take the time to learn about and respect the culture of the people we’re engaging with.  Paul (the apostle) knew the importance and value of finding common ground: “…I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Unknown to many, the Qur’an (Koran) isn’t a how-to manual on how to build bombs and teach young men how to become radical terrorists.  If one would take the time to actually READ it, he/she would realize that there are a striking number of similarities to the Bible, with many of the same stories and people existing in both books.  The God of the Islam faith is the same God of the Bible.  (Allah is the Arabic name for God)  The stories of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, John the Baptist, and JESUS are all present in varying degrees of detail.  Most importantly, it talks about Jesus as the Messiah: “[And mention] when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allah gives you good tidings of a word from Him, whose name will be the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary – distinguished in this world and the Hereafter and among those brought near [to Allah ].” (Surah 3:45).

Sound familiar?  ”The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. ³¹ And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; ³³ and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:30-33)

The point here is not to build a case for the Qur’an as a holy book or as inspired scripture.  Does it have passages I disagree with?  Sure.  But there is an immense amount of material that can be used to engage those of the Islam faith who use it as their guide to connecting with God.  Often, many stories the Qur’an only tells in part can be fleshed out by using the Bible, leading to more in-depth conversations about the Kingdom of God.  Dwell on what you have in common instead of fighting over the issues you disagree on.  By doing this and respecting the culture of those whom you are engaging, you will show them honor.  By honoring them, you open up the doors for rich, honest, straight-to-the-heart discussion, and that is where Jesus wants you to be.

In part 2 I’ll discuss the intentionality of using “Kingdom” language, instead of the more traditional “Christian” terminology.