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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Orientation to the Kingdom of God, continued
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 4:2,3)
Is our main objective to die and go to Heaven? Or is our main objective to press into the Kingdom of God, meaning we continually are bringing Christ into each area of our own lives and, as the Spirit of God enables, into the lives of those around us?
The Kingdom of God either is another country to which we will go some day or else it is the bringing of righteous behavior into the earth. Either we die and journey to the Kingdom of Heaven, or else the Kingdom of Heaven is being formed in us now and will be revealed in great power and authority when the Lord Jesus returns to destroy the wickedness out of this earth.
The Kingdom of God either is Paradise in the spirit realm filled with sparkling fountains and luxurious homes or else it is the conquering of evil in the spiritual and material realms by the Presence of Christ.
Is the Kingdom of God Paradise or is the Kingdom of God Christ? Heaven and Christ are not the same thing. Heaven is a place. Christ is a Person. One may say, Heaven would not be "Heaven" without the Lord Jesus. That is our point.
When Jesus came from Heaven and dwelled on the earth, the Kingdom of God left Heaven and dwelled on the earth; the resurrection from the dead and eternal life left Heaven and dwelled on the earth.
If the Kingdom of God is Christ, then to be with Him and in Him is to be with and in the Kingdom of God. Wherever Jesus is, there is the Kingdom of God. If Christ comes to this earth and reigns over the nations, and we are left in Heaven, then we are left without the Kingdom of God for it has gone into the earth.
Jesus does not promise us we will be in Heaven forever. But He does promise us we will be with Him forever (John 14:3; 17:24; I Thessalonians 4:17).
If gaining Christ, gaining the Kingdom of God, is our goal, then we need to be pressing into Christ each day of our Christian sojourn.
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; (Philippians 3:10)
Paul to the end of his days on earth was pressing into Christ, into the Kingdom of God.
If our goal is eternal residence in Heaven we essentially are a death-oriented individual. We are holding our "ticket" and waiting for the Lord to come and take us "home," or to die and go "home." In some cases, those who are waiting to go to Heaven are not using the talents that the Lord of the harvest has given them. This is not wise.
The Christian who is correctly oriented to the Kingdom of God also regards Heaven as his homeland. He has been born from above, from Heaven. His heart, his treasures, are in Heaven above. He yearns to be at home with God, with Christ, with the saints and holy angels.
To be continued.