Books are my passion. They always have been. Maybe it’s because my family often read to me as a child. Or perhaps the giant book collection given to me by my Grandma Helen hooked me. Everything from Nancy Drew Mysteries to Little Women enticed me to fall in love with reading. But by far, my favorite books were the fairy tales-what we call fantasy today-full of dragons to be slain and kingdoms to conquer. My inner child still loves a good story that transports me to a kingdom not of this world.
So it’s not difficult to imagine why I’m fascinated by Jesus’ parables about God’s Kingdom. In these stories, Jesus uses familiar characters and scenes to relate complex ideas. When it comes to Jesus’ Kingdom parables, He uses a number of metaphors to get His point across.
What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches.
What shall I compare the Kingdom of God to? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.
Luke 13:18-20
Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of God may look insignificant at first. But like a tiny seed, it grows exponentially and remains hidden like yeast while it develops. In another passage, He says . . .
God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for exquisite pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
Matthew 13:45-46
The kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.
Jesus’ words in Luke 17:20-21
The Kingdom of God is precious as a rare jewel, sought after at all cost. Jesus ushered in this Kingdom and it grows mysteriously within our midst. Yet, we know in our heart that it’s not complete. If the Kingdom of God was fully recognized on earth, we would no longer experience death or injustice. Jesus made it clear that He spoke of a spiritual kingdom, not a physical reality in our world at this time.
My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.
John 18:36
The Kingdom of God is both here and not yet. Now we carry the spiritual kingdom in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. Every kind act of mercy spreads His kingdom throughout the world like yeast in dough. It grows from a tiny seed within us to become a refuge and shelter for others. We treasure Christ in us as a precious jewel, more valuable than anything else on earth.
But this is not all that will be in the future. Whenever we pray The Lord’s Prayer, we proclaim “may your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” Someday God’s physical kingdom will come to earth and all the wrongs will be made right.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
Revelation 21:3
Yes, I love to read God’s promises of a kingdom not of this world that’s yet to come. But unlike works of fiction, I don’t believe Jesus’ parables are simply fairy tales or fantasy. His words ring true in my heart and His presence in my imperfect life is my testimony. Nevertheless, I cannot speak for anyone else. We all must come to our own conclusions about Jesus.
Fact or fiction? Do you believe Jesus’ words? There’s no middle ground.
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.
C S Lewis from his book, “Mere Christianity“
