Kingdom Life
There is only one God and one Kingdom of God.
One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." The second is this, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' Then the scribe said to him, 'You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that "he is one, and besides him there is no other"; and "to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength", and "to love one's neighbor as oneself",this is much more important than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.' When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God.' After that no one dared to ask him any question. - Mark 12:28-34
Many people think we Christians worship multiple gods, because we believe in the Trinity, but we really just believe in and worship one true God. Jesus makes that point in today's Gospel.
He and the scribe talk about the one God and our commitment to love God completely, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Jesus tells him this belief brings the man closer to the kingdom. The same should be true for us. The more we love God and through that love of God love one another, the closer we get to the kingdom.
I don't think Jesus is talking about the afterlife. This kingdom is here, within our grasp, and we can dwell in it and be closer to God now.
Now if we choose to focus on the bad in this world, and lump that all together with the good, I think we miss the point of this kingdom life.
Living in the Kingdom of God is loving all as we love God, and ourselves.
The good that comes from loving one another far outweighs the bad people do to one another.
We can dwell on the evil we are capable of, or we can focus on the good we can do for one another, even the good we do in the face of evil.
In God's Kingdom, there is no room for hatred and evil. All are welcome, sins and all, and when they put on a life of love, they are washed clean, refreshed and renewed.
Who wouldn't want to live there?
So, this life is not about being good or being bad, but about being loved and loving in return.
That is Kingdom Living, and we are all welcome to try it. It's close at hand if we choose it.
So, instead of complaining about what others fail to do, or do wrong, we should just do, with love.
Easy peasy.
More to come...