The kingdom of heaven came like a farmer sowing seed.  It came like a servant washing feet. It came like a physician healing wounds. The kingdom of heaven came this way because people needed healing, washing, and growing.

Even the strong and spiritually mighty among us can have bad days or difficult seasons where we forget what we have seen and heard. Prison walls, so to speak, crowd in upon us. Darkness fills our surroundings, and darkness fills our soul. But I have such good news for you. Jesus is not angry with you. He was not angry with John, and he sent an encouraging message and report back to John. And he will do the same with you.

John the Baptist had a mission for two of his followers. He wanted them to find Jesus and ask him this question, ‘Are you really the one we have been expecting, the one we have been waiting for? Or should we look for someone else?’”

The stories of the Roman centurion and the widow of Nain are both about young men, one a beloved servant of a Roman centurion, the other a beloved son of a widow in Israel.  One was at the point of death, the other had passed through death into eternity. Jesus healed one from a distance. Jesus healed the other directly in front of him. Jesus brought great joy to a Roman man and great joy to a Jewish mother.

With one, Jesus saw great humility and faith. With another, Jesus felt great compassion in his heart. But with both, Jesus showed that he is Lord of all. He is the one who can say to sickness, “be gone” and it will go, to evil spirits, “leave” and they will flee. He is the one who says to blessing, “come” and it will come, and to salvation, “enter this person” and salvation will enter.

Anger and bitterness – they fill the hearts of people in nations occupied by foreign armies, by those who rule over them. But sometimes, despite such conflict, people overcome the hurt and the anger.  Masks come off and the humanity on both sides of the conflict emerges. Such is the case with the story of the centurion and his servant.

In your asking, be persistent because it shows how much you want something. In your seeking, be persistent because it shows the quality of your heart. In your knocking, be persistent because it clarifies what you want.

We must discover our hearts. We must locate our hearts. Most people are not in touch with their heart – with their fundamental desires and what they treasure the most. They go through life without thinking about anything of lasting value. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our heart for from it flows the springs of life. But we do a poor job of guarding our hearts. We give our heart away to this trifle and that trifle, and we wake up one day and realize that our heart is gone.

This is the kind of praying Jesus is looking for. Not showy, prideful prayer, but prayer that comes humbly and with simplicity before God.

Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us, and he says in that way we will show ourselves to be children of God because God is that way. People can shake their fists at God. People can curse him and blaspheme his name, but God still sends the warmth of the sun and the gentleness of the rain to grow their crops. We are to be like our God, like our King.

God’s kingdom is not one of mere outward observance of rituals, but it pierces to the real heart of God and the things that matter most. A good citizen, a good servant of God’s kingdom will discern the true spirit – the true intention of God’s word and keep it from the heart.