Kingdom Pictures: 5 Ways to See the Kingdom of GodНамуна

Introduction To the Kingdom

The Gospel writers Mark and Luke talk about the kingdom of God on almost every page of their gospels. Matthew refers to the kingdom of God as the kingdom of heaven because he is talking to a Jewish audience and is more sensitive about using the word “God.” John often uses “eternal life“ as a synonym for the kingdom of God. What is the kingdom of God?

Let me be very honest: I truly believe that understanding and wrestling with what Jesus had in mind when he talked about the kingdom of God can change everything for you. It did for me. Let me tell you about two conversions in my life.

The first conversion was to the person of Jesus. I encountered Jesus and awakened to how much he loves me. It was unbelievable. I became the guy you did not want to sit next to on a bus because I could not stop talking about the love of God revealed through Jesus on the cross.

After four years of studying theology, I had a second conversion. The first conversion had been to the person of Jesus. The second was to the message of Jesus. When I understood the message of the kingdom of God with my head and even more with my heart, I could not sleep anymore because I was so excited. I became the guy you did not want to sit next to on a bus all over again because I wanted to tell everyone about the kingdom of God and still do.

Maybe this is what Jesus is referring to when he talks about the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When someone found it, they became so overjoyed they sold all they had to buy the field.

If you could use one analogy or word picture to explain the kingdom of God, what would you use?