The Kingdom

"Change your life. God's kingdom is here." Matthew 4:17b

Jesus comes out of the desert, the spring back in his step after being tended to by angels. He learns that his cousin, John, had been arrested. So he moves to Capernaum and starts delivering his message. "The kingdom of heaven, God's kingdom, is here. It's time for a change."
Here, he also calls some fishermen to follow him. Simon and Andrew, James and John. They leave what they have, initiating their own life change.
Then Jesus really gets on the ball. Starting in verse 23 of Matthew 4, we read of Jesus preaching and teaching the truth of God. As the Message translation says, "God's kingdom was his theme."
So what is God's kingdom? Read on. "He also healed people of their diseases and of the bad effects of their lives. People brough anybody with an ailment, whether mental, emotional, or physical. Jesus healed them, one and all."
There's our example. Jesus, not only saying with his mouth that the kingdom is here, but living it out. He healed people of every kind of ailment. There were so many that came out, that Jesus eventually climbed up a hillside, outside of the synagogue.
We may not all have a gift of healing. We may not all can speak before a crowd confidently. But if you claim to know Jesus, you have him. You are a citizen of his kingdom. You have the authority from Jesus to say, "It's time for a life change. Look at what God is doing." It isn't pressure. It is loving, reaching out to people, meeting them where they are. They came to Jesus because they heard what he was doing. And they soon outgrew the meeting place. Lives were changed. It was all for the better. Jesus did it.
I'm looking to take part in what Jesus has been doing since those days and is still doing today. His goal has not changed. It is still the same. The kingdom of God is here among us. We are part of it. We are ambassadors. We are the purveyors of life to this world in the name of Jesus. Let's help the kingdom grow.