How we look our world will determine how live in it. And more important, how we seek the Kingdom of God in it. Happily, Jesus has given us plenty of help in thinking about the world as He does. Today’s excerpt from The Kingdom Turn is from pages 103 and 104:

“Jesus envisioned the world like a wheat field, where the Master of the field expects to reap a bountiful harvest at the end of time. According to Jesus, the world is not a weed field, waiting to be burned, but a wheat field, set to be sown, cultivated, guarded, and harvested in His time. For now, the Lord’s enemy, still determined to do what he can to thwart the Master’s project, sows the seeds of unbelief, temptation, wickedness, corruption, and deception wherever the seed of the Gospel has taken root – including in your heart and mine.

“But when the Master returns to gain His harvest, He returns to a wheat field, invaded by weeds, and not the other way around, as so many ‘left behind’ Christians would have us believe. 

“The Apostle John got this vision. He wrote, from a state of persecution and exile, that the Light of the Kingdom of God is advancing, rolling back the darkness and bringing righteousness, peace, and joy in the Spirit to nations and peoples everywhere. John did not allow his circumstances of exile and confinement to dissuade him from pursuing a compelling vision of the advancing Kingdom of God. Nor should we. 

“We may think we’re living in dark days, that things are going from bad to worse, and there’s no end in sight. But the truth is just the opposite. Satan is back on his heels, bound and reeling; the rulers of this world are deceived and deceiving; the Church, though for the time somewhat complacent, at least in the West, is at all times a spiritual tinder box, ready for a new spark of the Spirit; and the Kingdom of God is advancing wherever men and women cling to Jesus’ compelling vision and seek the Kingdom of God as their highest priority in life.”

For reflection or discussion
1. Is your part of the world field—your sphere of service—growing wheat or weeds? Explain.

2. What does your calling to sow and cultivate that field require of you?

We’re all workers in the Lord’s wheat field, loving and teaching and encouraging others to bring forth the fruit of the Gospel in their daily lives. If we think of our world as a “weed field”, we’re not likely to put much effort into tending it. But Jesus sees our sphere in His field as a wheat field. Yeah, we have work to do. Share today’s podcast with a friend. Get together to discuss it. Encourage your friends in signing-up to receive Read Moore for free, every week day. Your copy of The Kingdom Turn is available now in The Ailbe Bookstore.

T. M. Moore

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