dueling kingdoms

He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God...

...So when they met together, they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?"

the kingdom of God seems to be a pretty central theme of Christ's ministry. the term shows up 51 times in the Gospels and another six times in Acts, besides a handful of times in the rest of the New Testament. apparently it's something that Christ, and his followers, are fairly keen on.

i was struck though by the proximity of two kingdoms in chapter 1. first, in verse three, Luke tells us that Christ's primary task after resurrecting was speaking of the kingdom of God. and then, just a handful of verses later in verse six his disciples ask if he is now going to restore the kingdom of Israel.

God's concerned with establishing himself. we're concerned with establishing ourselves. hereing lies the rub. as subjects, as creation, as children of God, we forget our primary life of being all about the One to whom we're subject, who created us, who Father's us.

i struggle with this. i want my own "kingdom" established and the sooner the better. i want God to serve my most recent wishes, to do what i want. and it's not that he's bent on making me miserable. his kingdom isn't about making us doing the things we want to the least. in fact, i'm more and more prone to leave that our desires and God's kingdom line up more often than not. but i think a lot of it has to do with the order in which they're pursued.

i think it's scary that God used people that were so messed up to spread who he was to the rest of the world. one minute they're asking this ill-aimed question that's all about power and authority and them getting what they want. and the next minute Christ is gone and they're all standing around dumbfounded.

i also think it's that God uses people that are so messed up to spread who he is to the rest of the world. one minute i'm bent on my personal dreams. and the next i'm dumbfounded by seeing Christ at work in the world around me. at work through me and despite me.