We long to connect...

I will never forget a trip with my small children to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It was my first time there. Being an avid baseball fan from the Mickey Mantle era, there was plenty for me to see; my ten-year-old son had a card collection and knew some of the legends, so he found it interesting as well.

About half way through our tour, I lost track of my son. As I retraced my steps, I found him standing in front of the Babe Ruth display. He really hadn’t wandered, but had just stayed behind in the previous room after I moved on to the next. He didn’t hear me approach, so I was able to get close and observe what had held his short attention span so long. He stood there in front of the locker that was used by “The Babe,” and with a careful reverence and concentrated focus, he was rubbing his index finger and thumb up and down the locker handle as if it would somehow transfer some kind of connection between him and the “Sultan of Swat.”

As I watched, I realized that this was one of those occasional hallowed moments we encounter … for in that instant, unbeknownst to him, my young son had caught the essence of a museum! This wasn’t about memorabilia, or neat old stuff. This wasn’t about learning stats and memorizing accomplishments; this was about an encounter with someone that had gone before.

Whether the pause at the locker was a child-like reaction or just prolonged curiosity, I don’t know. But I do know this … I learned something that day. I gained?a different perspective as I realized that a great baseball player had stood in front of that very locker, had changed into his uniform, and had then entered the field to make his mark on history. Babe’s hand had opened that actual locker many, many times! And as I stood there beside my son, I reached for the handle, too; I also wanted to feel what it was like.

?In some ways, we should be more interested in the real person than in all the glitz and fame that saturates such a hall. Many times in life, the import is not centered on where we are at, but whom we will see!

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near.” ~Matthew 4:17

When you see this verse, what do you think of? Streets of gold? Perhaps you picture a world of peace? We know that at the time Jesus spoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, most of the Jews in Palestine had specific expectations! They were waiting for a?Mashiach?(Messiah) to rid their region of the Roman scourge and restore peace with their people (God’s chosen) as the ruling class. However, Jesus wasn’t there to build a physical Kingdom at all. Everyone missed the point and so do we. Let’s consider this carefully.

The difficulty at hand is one of language and abstract thought.?When our Lord spoke these words, He used the Greek word?basileia,?which many in modern times have translated “kingdom.” The problem is that?basileia?was almost always used as an abstract noun inferring “power" or "dominion,” or in this case “kingship.” In the earliest of Greek up to and including Homer,?basileus?always referred to the “ruler.” Later, in more of a Hellenistic context, the word?basileia?came about. Its original meaning is seen in Aristotle’s writings and translates as “the fact of being a king;” “the power of a ruler;” or?“kingly rule.”

What Jesus really said was, “Repent, for the?basileia?(kingship)?of God (or heaven) is near.”?When the word “kingdom” is substituted for “kingship,” we are using a form of “metonymy” (using a figure of speech in which the name of one thing is used in place of that of another associated with or suggested by it).?A modern example of metonymy would be using the phrase “the White House” for “the President.” Since Jesus spoke of Himself having a king-like authority, many mistakenly looked for an empire and assumed that He was announcing that a literal kingdom was near. But Jesus chose His words carefully; He was really talking about His kingship or lordship of our lives, and not about a place at all!

The ministry of Christ ushered mankind into a final stage of faith, a faith that had begun with Abraham centuries before. It began with “God-Seers,” not law-keepers. This kingship proclaimed that Heaven or God would begin to reign in the hearts and minds of man (at the time of Christ, some pious Jews would say the word “Heaven” in lieu of “God” because they thought saying God’s name was too presumptuous). The Temple would move from a physical locale to the ethereal hearts of people. A totally new, vibrant and personal faith was about to change the world!

“…your Kingdom [Kingship] come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” ~Matthew 6:10.

There were a few commonly used expressions among the ancient Jews. One was, “Let him cause his Kingdom to reign, and his redemption to flourish: and let the Messiah speedily come and deliver his people.” Another was, “He prays not at all, in whose prayers there is no mention of the Kingdom of God.” A third, and perhaps most popular was, "The Kingdom of thy Messiah come.” Jesus purposely altered this well-known expression, and left out the word "Messiah” and said, "Thy Kingship come.” This deliberate slant of the expected phrase was most certainly noted by all! It served to let those listening know that the kingdom wasn’t about territory, but authority, and that the Messiah (He) was come!

Jesus also spoke using a common Hebraic form of “double petition” or “parallelism” for emphasis and to further make His point. The second phrase was used to explain, amplify and define the first. “Thy Kingship come, thy will be done!”?We see this form of writing in the Psalms:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. ~Psalm 23:1.

The first statement is made and then supported by the second. The fact that God’s “will” was empirical and of Supreme authority endorsed the notion of Christ’s reign and “kingship authority” on earth!

God has always held a premium on “relationship,” and that is why it is important to make this distinction. Ponder this; what held more significance, the perfection of the garden in Eden, or the fact that God literally fellow-shipped with man? Which meant more; the land flowing with milk and honey, or the fact that God formed a nation of His own? It is not the Kingdom but the?relationship?of “kingship” that God emphasizes.

The Bible is full of foreshadowing when it comes to the personal relationship that is ours in Christ. Consider the Tabernacle, or “Tent of Meeting” that God initiated in the desert. What a concept! Man could enter this tent and be close to the actual “Creator”! Though a veil hung thick and ominous, there was access for the common man. And when all six?million couldn’t fit in the tent, they were each given a “personal tent” to have available 24/7! This “prayer shawl” was a symbol of things to come; a time when the veil would be rent in two and Christ’s blood would be sprinkled on the altar, once and for all affording free access to God with Christ interceding on our behalf before the throne of grace! Then we would be given a guide, interpreter, and help-meet in the form of the Holy Spirit to walk with us during this continued fellowship with God. God would now make His residence in the “Tabernacle of our Hearts” and reign from there.

It is a holy and sobering thing to give your heart to Jesus. You are in essence saying, “Thy Kingship come, thy will be done on earth (in and through us) as it is in heaven!” The beauty is that it all fits! The more you read the Scriptures, the more you will see that it is and always has been about the relationship, both vertical and horizontal.?For now, the Kingdom is not a place; it is an encounter!?It is a living, vibrant organism centered on His Lordship and of which we get to be a part.

As Jesus said:

But rather seek ye first the Kingship of God. ~Luke 12:3

If we do that, we will be best prepared for our life on this earth and the joy in our days to follow.