Kingdom Greatness - Ladders into the Kingdom (Part 5)

A compelling vision

Meditating on the Kingdom of God can be a powerful source of spiritual energy for serving the Lord. Consider just the following:

• The Kingdom of God is power—the power of grace (1 Cor. 4.20)

• The Kingdom of God is His gift to us as believers (Dan. 7.13-18).

• The Kingdom of God is spread throughout the field of the world (Matt. 13.37, 38).

• The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18).

• The Kingdom of God is coming on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6.10).

• The Kingdom of God must ultimately overcome all other kingdoms on earth (Dan. 2.44).

• The Kingdom of God is the Christian’s defining life priority (Matt. 6.33).

• It pleases God to give us more of His Kingdom (Lk. 12.32).

Try holding all those facts together as one collage of divine revelation. Meditate around them and then from within them. In what ways do these define the meaning and mission of your life?

Pastors and teachers who fail to teach the Kingdom of God and to urge their hearers to press into it put themselves in a dangerous spot. Jesus chastised the scribes and Pharisees because they did not enter the Kingdom of God and they barred the way for any who sought to do so (Matt. 23.13). They were barriers to the Kingdom.

By neglecting to proclaim the Kingdom like Jesus and Paul did, or by postponing the coming of the Kingdom to the second coming of the Lord, or by teaching people that politics and government are the ultimate manifestations of the Kingdom, pastors and teachers enter the circle of woes that Jesus pronounced against His enemies. I say, His enemies, because this is precisely where they stand who create barriers to the Kingdom by not urgently, clearly, and continuously calling the people they serve to enter and enter ever more deeply into the Kingdom and glory of God.

Where are the ladders?

Dallàn Forgaill, a 6^th-century Irish poet and monk, described the followers of Colum Cille as “ladders against the Kingdom” or, as the original Gaelic could also be translated, “ladders into the Kingdom.” Either way, the disciples of Colum Cille, founder of the Iona community, were great in the Kingdom of God because they made themselves means for others to gain entrance into that glorious realm as well. But what did that entail?

First, a clear and compelling vision of the Kingdom. Those disciples knew what was on the other side of those walls—the beauty, greatness, majesty, energy, grace,and holiness of the Kingdom. If they did not have a clear and compelling vision, it’s not likely they would have given themselves to the work of helping others enter the Kingdom.

Second, they had to have parked themselves within that Kingdom, not only seeing the Kingdom but participating in it themselves. Only if they themselves had been firmly set against and above the wall of the Kingdom would anyone have been able to make their way into it over them.

And third, they had to have their feet firmly planted in the soil of the world, in touch with its peoples and needs, their rungs low enough for people from the world to begin their journey into the heavenly realm.

This is what makes for Kingdom greatness: vision, participation, service, staying the course. 

Taking the Kingdom by force

Dallàn Forgail envisioned siege ladders, all around the Kingdom of God, and people climbing up and over at a steady rate, filling up the Kingdom with new citizens day by day. Those entering are so glad to do so that they clamber up the rungs of the disciples—their teaching, helping, example, and service—with a kind of holy violence, which puts me in mind of Jesus’s words. He said that such violent people would take the Kingdom of God by force (Matt. 11.12).

Cyril of Alexandria (4^th century) said concerning this verse, “Whoever hears and loves the sacred message takes it by force. This means that he uses all his eagerness and strength in his desire to enter within the hope.” And 11 centuries later, John Calvin wrote, “Let us also learn from these words, what is the true nature and operation of faith. It leads men…to rush forward as it were with a violent struggle.”

Are we showing the greatness of God’s Kingdom to the people in our Personal Mission Field? Its beauty, goodness, grace, peace, and joy? Its all-comprehending scope and power? Do they see us as more excited about and devoted to the Kingdom than to a favorite sports team? Are we urging people along into the Kingdom by our love, labors, and perseverance; or are we more like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who couldn’t have cared less about people entering the Kingdom of God?

Reflect on your life so far today: Kingdom ladder or Kingdom barrier? Which are you?

T. M. Moore