May Your kingdom come… in me!

Reflecting on Luke 9:27-36

"Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:27)

So when did some of the disciples see the kingdom of God?
All of them saw the triumphal entry, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension.
Only some of them saw the transfiguration, the story that follows next.
It was about eight days later, after Jesus said this, yet it is the next verse.
Luke wants us to see this next story as the fulfillment of Jesus’s words.
The transfiguration seen by Peter, James and John was seeing the kingdom of God.

How is seeing Jesus changed and shining brightly the kingdom of God?
If we think of the kingdom as a realm, it does not make sense.
If we think of the kingdom as a ruler, it makes more sense.
In this moment, the hidden identity of Jesus is revealed.
He shines with the brightness of God; He is ‘like God’ yet human.
He is a God-like human on earth; He is Adam and Eve restored.

The kingdom of God is this world under God-like human leadership.
Jesus lives like God, loves like God, leads like God.
Yet what is striking is how Jesus does not live, love or lead.
His glory is not used to gain respect or obedience.
He does not walk around glowing all the time, to make people listen.
He lives, loves and leads like a servant king.
God’s glory and goodness is revealed through humble, gracious love.

In Exodus 33-34, Moses asks to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18).
God promises to reveal His goodness, His Name, His mercy and compassion (Exodus 33:19)
Glory is clearly associated with goodness, mercy and compassion.
This is the meaning of the name that is above all Names.
This is the Name of the Lord that is a strong tower, a refuge.
This is how Moses finally experiences God’s glory (His Name):

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7a)

Seven different ways of saying the same thing: God is love, God is loving!
This gracious compassionate love IS the glorious goodness of God.
It is this that makes Moses glow when he reflects God’s glory (Exodus 34:29).
It is this that makes Jesus glow as He reflects God’s glory.

Our world would glow like Jesus if we lived, loved and led this way.
We would glow like Jesus inwardly if we lived, loved and led this way.
And maybe sometimes it would show outwardly too.
God’s kingdom is this world glowing with gracious, compassionate love.
This is how we were designed to be, and what made creation ‘very good’.

Jesus is in charge of heaven and earth, and He still rules with God-like love.
He is not a top-down ruler, ordering people around, demanding respect.
He works with the lowly, He walks with the weak, He serves the needy.
And when we do this, we are ruling with Jesus in a God-like way too.

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28)

I am comforted by this glorious love as seen in Jesus.
For me, Jesus glows with this love all the time, in every Jesus story.
When I think of God, I think of the shining face of Jesus, smiling on me.
He is God’s light in the world, and I get to reflect this light.
I am like the moon to the sun; I produce no light on my own, but reflect what I see.

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

I am convicted and compelled by this love; I want to glow with it too.
I want people to experience God’s shining goodness, compassion and mercy.
I want to bear the Name of Jesus, the Name of God, in a worthy manner.
This compassionate mercy affects how I deal with other sinners.
Whatever their sin is, they need to experience the glow of God’s love too.
It may be undeserved, and they may not be worthy of it – but that is grace!

Do we want to see God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.
Then start reflecting the sevenfold love of God revealed to Moses.
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our politics…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our churches…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our economics…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our social policy…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our entertainment…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our neighbour relations…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our international relations…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our denominational differences…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our religious differences…
If this Jesus-like, God-like love was reflected in our views on morality…
We would experience more glowing, and less misery and violence.
My desire is not to taste death before I see the kingdom of God like this!

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, may Your kingdom come, and may Your will be done, in my life as it is in heaven (with God). May how I live, love and lead reflect the shining glory and goodness of God, that others may experience Your kingdom as well.