Peace and order mark the invisible kingdom

Let all things be done decently and in order. 1 Corinthians 14:40, nkjv

After He had prayed all night, Jesus called twelve men to follow Him. Then as the crowd pressed upon them, Jesus had them sit down and He taught them. He spoke of an invisible kingdom that God Himself presided over, “The Kingdom of God.” As the people listened, they weighed His words against the world they knew – one ruled by the Romans assisted by the Jews whom they considered to be traitors.

But Jesus soon made it clear that His kingdom was one in the hearts of God’s children – one ruled by a different set of rules than they knew. This is the Kingdom where you treat enemies as friends, where you pray for those who persecute you, and where you give your coat to a brother. Not everyone, then or now, would be comfortable in such a kingdom.

God’s Kingdom is a kingdom of peace. Five times the New Testament describes God as the “God of peace.” Twice, writing to Roman Christians, Paul calls Him the “God of peace” and then adds who “will soon crush  Satan under his feet.”

Jesus, however, was telling those who came to hear Him that in this world – one torn by hatred, strife, and bitter rivalry – you can have an inner peace dwelling in your heart, that you don’t have to render an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

How else is this invisible kingdom different? It’s not only a kingdom of joy and peace, but it is also a kingdom of harmony and order. Simply put, when you let God put the broken, disordered pieces of your life back together, a pattern of harmony emerges and a song of joyfulness resonates. That’s what living in God’s Kingdom is about.