Smallest Seed

Servants and Tenants in the Kingdom I don't know if you've noticed it. But in one Kingdom parable, Jesus let us look closer into some realities in God's Kingdom. Matthew 21 tells us of a story about a landowner, tenants, servants and a vineyard. The vineyard was left by the owner to tenants who had to give him his share of the fruit. The owners sent his servants to collect it for him. I know this is about how Israel rebelled against God in the Old Testament no matter how many prophets God sent them to repent. Then last of all, he sent his Son Jesus whom they killed. But this story can have lots of other insights for the church. After all, the Christian church is very much a part of God's chosen people through Christ. We are no longer aliens and strangers but fellow citizens in the new spiritual Israel. So, in the Kingdom, there are servants and tenants. Tenants work the vineyard while servants are sent to collect the owner's fruit. But in the story, the t

Images above from Dreamstime and Flickr. Salt and Light Few things are important in the Kingdom---like being salt and light. On these two depends your effectiveness in the Kingdom. You may look so good and effective in ministry, but if you lose your saltiness and don't shine properly as light, you're nothing in the Kingdom. In fact, being salt and light of the world is more important than any church "ministry" or activity. Being salt and light is what keeps us from ending up like the Pharisees and religious law teachers---salt that had lost its saltiness and light that was kept under the bed or a bowl. They were experts when it came to the Word of God but they never lived it out. They lacked character results. They lacked fruit. If you live out the Word, you live the Beatitude Life. As long as the Beatitudes is seen in you, you are salt and light. You are effective in the Kingdom. Salt Salt is good as long as it keeps its saltiness. "Saltiness"

Image from Ray Downing. Pharisee Debacle Jesus said our righteousness should surpass the righteousness of the Pharisees and law teachers. If not, we will "certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." You see, this is a very serious thing. Make sure you do not fall into the Pharisee Debacle. What made them fail? Simple---their lives were outside the Beatitudes. Yes, they were experts of the law---very bible-based, as it were---and yet you couldn't see how their lives and characters fit into the standards of the Kingdom. The law should result to the Beatitudes, but didn't happen with them. It's so important it needs repeating---fulfillment of the law resulted into the Beatitude Life. Jesus clarified that he didn't come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. So, Christ is the model of someone who has fulfilled the law. In the bible, you see all the Beatitude qualities in him---poor in spirit, mourning, meek, seriously after righteousness, peacemaker, etc