70. Give the Kingdom
Luke 12:32 It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
God promises to give you the kingdom, and it delights Him to do so. This promise seems to be given by Jesus to lift the spirits of a small group of disciples who may sense they are in a small minority, overwhelmed by the majority of the world against them: “Fear not, little flock.” You may appear little in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God you are the Kingdom of God, the largest, the strongest, the best, the most pervasive, and the eternal kingship over all the empires of the world.
Jesus is once again opening our blind eyes to see what is really going on the realm we cannot see. Once again, it is a matter of faith that sees what is unseen; what is unseen is the Eternal Kingdom, which God gives us. When we “see” what kingdom we really live in we can never feel small, weak, oppressed, poor, or victimized ever again.We can look around us and laugh: “If only you could see where I live and who my King is.”
Inwardly, we can laugh at the world or any person in it; outwardly, we can laugh at the Devil and his lies and scares; we can laugh at Death and the fear of death; we can laugh at Sin when it tempts for we get our life and our joy from another source. When we realize we actually live in another world, the kingdom of God, the treatments and temptations of this earthly kingdom cannot stir us up or rile us; the world cannot draw us into its way of thinking and acting; the fears and worries of a short life in this world really look small in comparison to the eternal kingdom. Everything looks small when God is on our side.
This promise is spoken right after Jesus said, “Seek his kingdom.” Jesus says it is already given; it’s yours; you are in it; you don’t have to find it as if it is lost. “Seek” means recognize it, see by faith what is really there, know the truth whether your bodily eyes see it or not. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. God gives you the kingdom.