We all spend our lives building something. We are either spending our time, treasures, and talents to build our own kingdoms or we are spending our time, treasures, and talents to build God’s Kingdom. All that we spend on selfish ambition is temporal; while all that we spend on building God’s Kingdom is eternal, as it holds a promise for this life as well as the life to come.
I recently led a study on the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew (Chapters 5-7) which focuses on building God’s Kingdom. If you want to know what God’s Kingdom looks like on earth, then consider studying these 3 chapters. They are filled with practical and challenging words, which represent kingdom living. Jesus sets the foundation for this sermon in chapter 4:17 when He began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance is the fundamental issue at hand when it comes to building God’s Kingdom. God’s Kingdom is here right now. The question is, will I seek to build it or will I seek to build my own. We can’t do both.
We are programmed from the womb with a sinful nature that seeks to build our personal kingdoms first, and each one of us must personally repent of our choices- turning from ourselves to follow Christ in every aspect of our lives- involving both actions and attitudes. I have determined to live at the place of “repentance”, to constantly turn from myself and my selfish ambition and to ask, “God, what do YOU want in this moment?” Turning from ourselves and submitting to God is the foundational step we all must choose in order to pursue God’s Kingdom, and that begins with repentance. May we all, by His grace, seek to be people who seek to follow Christ, and build His Eternal Kingdom!