A few weeks ago the Deacons of First Baptist Church, Kennett Square led an evening of prayer and meditation around the theme of “Thy Kingdom Come”. They each shared thoughts about the Kingdom of God, providing a time of meditation around a specific question and then led us into a time time of prayer.
They shared their thoughts and meditations around questions like, “Do we (I) help those in need?” “Are we (Am I) living in in such a way that advances the Kingdom of God?” “Do we (Do I) celebrate when the Kingdom advances?” “Do we (Do I) want to see the Kingdom of God unleashed upon this earth?” “Do we (Do I) extend and receive forgiveness like Christ?”
We closed each section with the Deacon praying the Lord’s Prayer and then ended the evening with everyone who was gathered joining together to pray the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray…
Our Father, which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever
Amen
As part of that evening one of our Deacons, Don Poole Sr., asked a question during his time of meditation. He just kind of snuck it in at the end. As he asked it he offered no answer, he just left it hang out there for people to ponder. It was like he finished the meditation and then in a quiet, Don Sr. kind of way asked, “Am I living in a way that advances the Kingdom or just living?”
That question thrown in at the end of his meditation has haunted me these past few weeks. How am I living? What does my life look like to those closest to me, to those who hardly know me, to the one who matters most? Am I living each moment in a way that seeks to advance the Kingdom of God or am I simply trying to make it Monday to Friday and then get up Monday morning to start all over again?
I do not want to settle for “just living” because I know it does not lead to what Jesus talks about as Life to the Full. Life to the Full is found only as one seeks to build the Kingdom of God…starting first with their own life and then seeking to be a beacon of light, hope and grace in a world that desperately needs a good word from Abba Father.
Thank you Don for a great question that has caused me to wrestle and think about my spiritual journey.
